Macbeth

Macbeth

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play that is timeless due to the universal relevance of themes that continue to resonate with modern audiences. Crucial issues explored are the ambitious thirst for power Lady Macbeth provokes by manipulating Macbeth’s masculinity. The qualities of leadership are also depicted, as Macbeth descends from a noble, faithful leader to a man whose greed becomes compulsive and uncontrollably evil.   Shakespeare also accentuates the role of guilt and remorse, as both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s murderous exploits lead to their demise into madness. It is Macbeth audiences experience most empathy for, as contemporary responders understand the tragic flaw that afflicts him in his quest for power, as well as the sense of regret that consumes Macbeth later in the play.

Shakespeare uses Macbeth to explore the negative effect of betrayal by highlighting its ability to damage both an individual’s moral integrity and the well-being of an entire nation. When the play opens, responders are introduced to a loyal nobleman; however, Macbeth’s ambitious quest for power causes him to murder his own king. This emotional demise is a convention that often appears in Shakespearean tragedy as a nobleman falls from grace to malevolent misfortune. Macbeth’s betrayal is accentuated in the metaphorical; “False face must hide what the false heart doth know”. Macbeth’s goal to be King is largely triggered by Lady Macbeth’s desire to be Queen. Manipulating her husband to commit regicide through a challenge to his manhood, Lady Macbeth accuses him of being metaphorically “…too full o’ the milk of human kindness…” As Macbeth’s loyalty is destroyed, he abandons his people as well and the country, descending the nation into civil war. Macbeth admits his treacherous betrayal in the metaphorical “I have supp’d full with horrors;/ Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts.” As the portrayal of evil ambition continues to be intriguing, as well as relevant in...