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Is Macbeth Relevant Today Essay

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In what ways are the themes, messages and ideas of the play Macbeth relevant to contemporary society? Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor in the 1500 and 1600s. He is renowned for his genius in various literature techniques and many of the words and phrases that are used today were created by Shakespeare. Today, many of his plays are studied thoroughly by students and teachers alike. This essay will be focusing on “the Tragedy of Macbeth” written by Shakespeare in 1606. There are many ways in which the themes, messages and ideas from the play Macbeth are relevant to contemporary society. For example, things such as: excessive ambition will cause destruction, guilty behaviour leads to downfall and loyalty is an important and powerful virtue are all themes that are demonstrated strongly in Macbeth but are still relevant …show more content…

Excessive ambition is Macbeth’s key character flaw and it is shown numerous times throughout the play. At the beginning of the play, we can see Macbeth as a loyal and honest nobleman. However, as the production unfolds and the witches plant a seed of ambition in Macbeth, he begins to succumb to his desires. Despite realising in Act 1 Scene 7, that ambition is the cause of disaster (I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on th' other) he is so blinded by this that he neglects to make wise choices. This, not surprisingly, results in Macbeth demise. Many people, even today, are not content with what they have and go to great means to attain more possessions. This lust commonly results in people’s destruction and through the play Macbeth, we can gain and understanding of these dangers, providing a relevance between Shakespeare’s writing and today’s

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