...Themes of Macbeth (The Significance of Macbeth 4:2) Imagine you’re at a party, your first party when you’re offered a drink. You don’t want to refuse because everyone else is doing it; so you take it. You sip it here and there from time to time, to fit in with the crowd. There’s a knock on the door, and everyone jolts and sprints in their own directions, dodging tables chairs, running out the back doors, and hiding in closets. You still standing there like your feet are concreted to the ground, looked puzzled. The police barge in, take you and few others down to the police station and warrant you with an MIP. The days following at school, you’re the talk of the school and everyone knows your story. This was a significant incident in your life....
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...students of Sydney university. I will be lecturing the play Macbeth to you by way of a play as a psychological thriller. Shakespeare’s Macbeth can be depicted as a psychological thriller, through his monotonous use of the themes of death, unbridled ambition and supernatural power. The late Alfred Hitchcock who was an English film director and producer, commonly referred to as “The Master of Suspense”, enjoyed pursuing the themes of murder and psychology. We can all relate to Alfred through the studied play Macbeth and the themes articulated. Right? The motif of death is significant in the play Macbeth and is evident through the excessive portrayal of Lady Macbeth and the significance of her ‘washing her hands’ in a sea of blood symbolizing the themes, fate and unbridled ambition. An example of Macbeth’s ambition is his desire to accomplish anything to anyone and anywhere to proceed as the great king of Scotland. An example of Lady Macbeth with increasing proof of unbridled ambition is, “I have given suck and know how tender tis to love the babe that milks me.” It is noticeable that there is quite a bit of violent imagery here and it gives us an image of this innocent baby with its brains out, which is the complete opposite of a baby being milked by its mother, which is often seen in reality....
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...Introduction Shakespeare’s Macbeth is set within a society in which the notion of loyalty to one’s superiors is absolute and honour to one’s word. The story of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth follow major themes throughout the text. Macbeth follows the main theme of the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints this is also reinforced by its powerful expression in the plays two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. A second theme that the story of Macbeth follows is the relationship between Cruelty and Masculinity. Characters within Macbeth frequently dwell on issues of gender. This is reinforced with Lady Macbeth constantly manipulating her husband and questioning his manhood, wishing herself to be “Unsexed”. Continuing...
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH LINDA NEAL UNDERWOOD S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare developed many stories into excellent dramatizations for the Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare knew how to entertain and involve an audience with fast-paced plots, creative imagery, and multi-faceted characters. Macbeth is an action-packed, psychological thriller that has not lost its impact in nearly four hundred years. The politically ambitious character of Macbeth is as timely today as he was to Shakespeare's audience. Mary McCarthy says in her essay about Macbeth, "It is a troubling thought that Macbeth, of all Shakespeare's characters, should seem the most 'modern,' the only one you could transpose into contemporary battle dress or a sport shirt and slacks." (Signet Classic Macbeth) Audiences today quickly become interested in the plot of a blindly ambitious general with a strong-willed wife who must try to cope with the guilt engendered by their murder of an innocent king in order to further their power. The elements of superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, though more readily a part of everyday life for the Renaissance audience, remain intriguing to modern teenagers. The action-packed...
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...was which. Shakespeare didn’t write “heroes” and “villains.” He wrote real people with real flaws, who were all equally capable of committing good and evil. One of the most important themes in Macbeth involves the witches' statement in Act 1, Scene1 that "fair is foul and foul is fair." (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 10) This phrase aptly describes the macabre status quo within the character Macbeth and without. When Macbeth and Banquo first see the weird sisters, Banquo is horrified by their hideous appearances. Conversely, Macbeth immediately began to converse with these universally known evil creatures. After hearing their prophecies, one can say that Macbeth considered the witches to be "fair" when in reality their intentions were quite "foul." Macbeth's possession of the titles of Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland came by foul means. Macbeth became the Thane of Glamis by his father Sinel's death; he became Thane of Cawdor when the former namesake was executed for treason; and he was ordained King of Scotland after murdering the venerable Duncan. Thus, Macbeth has a rather ghastly way of advancing in life. This theme is further verified by King Duncan's statement "There's no art/ To find the mind's construction in the face." (Act 1, Scene 4, Lines 11-12) Although Macbeth has the semblance of the amicable and dutiful host, ("fair") he is secretly plotting Duncan's death...
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...Shakespeare writes about themes that are still relevant today because his themes of ambition, fate, violence and even the unnatural world is seen so often in our lives. We see ambition run amok in both Macbeth and his wife, who try so hard to fulfill their desires. For example, Macbeth a good, loyal and honest general os overrun by his ambitious personality was so dangerous, and destructive it led to his downfall. Lady Macbeth was overly - ambitious, too. In her eagerness to kill the king she prays to the unnatural saying "come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the toe – top – full of the direst cruelty. Make thick my blood,". Ambition relates to our lives today, as like Macbeth, many people aren't happy with what they have - they only want to attain power to attain more. Both today and in the Tragedy of Macbeth, ambition overthrows morals and virtues. Both Banquo and Macbeth question fate when the witches prophesies that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. Macbeth is rapped with ore at this possibility. This theme definitely relates to today, as so many people try and plan their future and believe they know what they will be doing in a decade, but in many circumstances, they end up doing something very different, due to choice. Macbeth shows that once one violent act is done, it only leads to another, and this does not stop. This means, violence usually does not...
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...expanding variety of themes portrayed in Macbeth, ambition is one of the main themes, it essentially conveys how morality is turned upside down. The main idea is that Macbeth's ambition leads to his own destruction. Initially Macbeth- General of the army and a loyal servant to his king was returning home from battle with Banquo, they come across three witches who state that Macbeth will be made king and so will Banquo's children. They both think that the predictions are absolute crap. However, when Macbeth returns to Cawdor, he is suddenly made thane, which then arouses his lust for power and spikes his ambition, he instantly goes on to murder King Duncan along with the temptation of Lady Macbeth. This creates regret because she...
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...wrote his well renowned plays in the 12th century, his main themes and prominent messages are still relevant today. Shakespeare Macbeth and Mark Brozel’s reworking strongly suggest that Shakespeare does write about these issues. Macbeth is a classic tragedy which is so versatile that it can be set in any context. Ambition is the most prominent theme in Macbeth. The audience sees ambition run riots in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s mind, who try so hard to fulfil their desires, no matter what the cost is. For example, Macbeth goes from a good, loyal and honest general to a murdering maniac. This is what ambition does to a human being. It brings out the darkest of demons in a human being. “For mine own good All causes shall give away. I am blood Stepp’d in so far that, I should wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er”- Macbeth (Act 3, Scene 4) Shakespeare uses the technique of similes to compare Macbeth’s crimes as that of him walking through a bloody river. In this simile, Macbeth is comparing his heinous crime to wading through a bloody river. It is Macbeth’s thinking that once a man commits a murderous act for his personal gain, it is impossible to stop. Macbeth implies that turning back would be as tedious as committing the crime. In Mark Brozel’s 2005 adaptation of Macbeth, Macbeth-Shakespeare Retold, the theme of ambition is explored in a different context but with the same plot. Joe Macbeth (Macbeth) knows that he will always be over worked and under paid...
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...the sentiments behind William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. Shakespeare was a poet as well as a playwright, famous for his powerful poetic language, universal themes, and keen insight into human behavior. His works dealt with the consequences and the psychological effects of certain actions, rather than the actions themselves. His effective use of figurative language, and unique writing style in Macbeth, as well as his other works, instantly captivates and mesmerizes the reader. Macbeth is a powerful drama about unchecked ambition, murder, intricate human relationships, and corruption of the human conscience. The play, set in 11th century Scotland and England, is composed of various acts and scenes, each greatly contributing to the overall plot and the play's varied themes. This is the inciting incident of the witches' prophecies in Act I Scene iii that puts the whole play into action. It is an extremely important and a very complex scene involving the Weird Sisters, Macbeth and Banquo, holding the key to future incidents and actions in the play, leading right upto the climax. This scene is pivotal in the overall development of the play- getting the characters geared up, and setting the stage for depraved thoughts and terrible actions to come. "The charm's wound up"(37) when the protagonist, Macbeth, first arrives on the scene with his friend Banquo. Upto this point, the reader does not know much about the character of Macbeth aside from the fact that he is said to be a brave...
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...Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays. The theme is about how one’s ambition can lead to their fall if they let it get out of hand. Lady Macbeth is one of the most aggressive and ambitious characters of Shakespeare’s plays. Much of the fame of Macbeth should be credited to her because it was her ruthless and almost man-like nature that set her apart from other women in Shakespeare’s plays. She is a round and dynamic character in this play because she changes and develops as the story’s proceedings unfold and conflicts emerge. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth gradually changes from being driven nearly entirely by ambition, to being manipulative of her husband to get her ways, and finally to becoming the complete opposite of her once strong-willed self. Lady Macbeth is seen as a woman of ambition in the beginning of Macbeth. Upon her discovery of Macbeth’s prophecies to become king, she immediately started to think about how to fulfill them. As her ambitious and cold nature overcame her conscience, she mapped out the murder of King Duncan with Macbeth. She came off as being very strong in the opening of the play. Shakespeare’s indirect characterization of her makes her unique from other female characters in his works, which is what sets Macbeth apart from the rest. Lady Macbeth has just as much ambition driving her as Macbeth has, if not more. Lynn M. Zott writes that Lady Macbeth’s ambition may be more aimed towards Macbeth’s successes and not solely hers...
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...In my project I decided to do a Mean Girls version of Macbeth, equating each character from Mean Girls a character in Macbeth. I chose Mean Girls, because Macbeth and Mean Girls both have similar themes of ambition. I chose scenes from each act because I wanted to focus on the theme of ambition only. I included summaries that still explained what happened in the parts of the play that I skipped so the audience isn’t confused. I did the summaries by just writing a quick recap in a slide before I went to the next scene. I also focused on the main characters such as Macbeth and Macduff, because in Mean Girls there are obvious similarities in the characters. In Mean Girls there is a group of girls called the plastics that are the “queens” of the school. Cady comes into the school and wants to become one of them because she wants to get with Aaron who is Regina’s ex-boyfriend. When Cady gets Aaron she doesn’t give up on trying to be the number one plastic, but she continues to become the...
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...tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Macbeth by William Shakespeare is the tragic story about the kind of destruction ambition and the struggle for power can cause. Even the noblest of people are corrupted by the idea of power and will do anything to achieve it. Symbolism, irony, foil, theme, and imagery are some of the literary elements and techniques Shakespeare uses to portray Macbeth, the protagonist, as a greedy tyrant willing to sacrifice all others to accomplish his goals. Shakespeare not only represents Macbeth as the protagonist, but also as an antagonist to himself and others in the play. The author characterizes Macbeth at first as an honorable man willing to fight for the freedom of his kingdom. Shakespeare foreshadows to the reader a developing change within Macbeth’s character after his encounter with the Weird Sisters. His convene with the witches arouses in Macbeth the idea of becoming king. The motivation for Macbeth to become king spurs from the prophecies told by the witches in the beginning acts of the play, which were evidently coming true as he gained the title “Thane of Cawdor” as the prophecy stated. Below the surface Macbeth is a melting pot of emotions, which engaged his character in the idea of becoming a supreme ruler undoubtedly causing him to commit shameless acts. The character of Macbeth is usually described as being flawed by ambition, but this interpretation is not without controversy. His...
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...battles in Macbeth; it features the murder of men, women and children; suicide and beheading Macbeth shows that once one violent act is done, it only leads to another, and this does not stop. This means, violence usually does not fix anything. In Macbeth, as soon as his ambition took over and he became a serial murderer, it didn't turn out well in the end - Macduff killed Macbeth. This is similar to many problems of society today, especially in teenage boys. Many people believe physical violence is the only way to fix their problems, which actually, it will most likely only cause a bigger one. Fights can never end up good - someone will always come out of it second best, and the other may even be caught out by the police or teachers! This leads to my next point, masculinity. "Dispute it like a man I shall do so, but I must also feel it as a man, I cannot but remember such things that were most precious to me." This is a quote from Macbeth (IV.3.26) where Macduff is ready to prove he is the more 'manly' one of both him and Macbeth. Even Lady Macbeth is willing to become more masculine so Macbeth can become king, shown in the quote under Ambition. Like Macbeth, Macduff and Lady Macbeth, people nowadays still 'need' to prove their masculinity by violence, especially teenage boys, and that is why the theme of violence is so relevant in today's society. Ambition and Power Ambition is the most obvious theme seen in Macbeth. We see ambition run amok in both Macbeth and...
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...In the play of, Macbeth, Shakespeare uses free will and gender themes. His theme of free will is acting independently in spite of past outside influences. HIs theme of gender roles is Lady Macbeth having masculine features. Macbeth has free will to believe the prophecies and lose his confidence in the end of the battle. Lady Macbeth shows a different relationship to free will then Macbeth through manipulation and forcing Macbeth to kill the king, ambitious to being ruthless, and death by their guilt getting to them. Macbeth is being manipulated by the witches and Lady Macbeth. The witches tell Macbeth what his prophecies are going to be and what it’s all going to lead up to, he believes them. He’s forced to kill Duncan by his wife, “I dare...
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...what happens when ambition leads to a choice that is morally wrong, followed by betrayal of other people in order to advance their own greed or power. Throughout the play of Macbeth three themes are present. Ambition, betrayal, and retribution are evident in the play in numerous different scenarios. Ambition is the source of most, if not all of the problems in this play. It all started with the witches prophecies “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Glamis/All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee thane of Cawdor/” (at this point Macbeth does not know he is the Thane of Cawdor, so when it happens he believes firmly in the witches prophecies). “All hail Macbeth! Shalt be king hereafter (Act 1:3:49-53)”. Macbeth is fascinated to a point where becoming king becomes an obsession for him. Furthermore, this ambition leads him to not only think about being king, but how to eliminate Duncan in order for him to become king. “If it were done, when ‘tis...
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