he irrefutable truth is that Macbeth is still relevant to a contemporary youth, and will continue to be for years to come. Macbeth is a timeless tale that prepares us for life, instead of just throwing us into the deep end.
Pressure- something that today’s youth is exposed to left, right and centre, and something that the main character, Macbeth, was extremely susceptible to. Henry Ford once said, ‘under pressure, the mouth speaks when the brain is disengaged, and, sometimes unwittingly, the gearshift is in reverse when it should be in neutral.’
This means that when put under pressure; people are influenced into doing things that they wouldn’t normally do. The pressure that society throws upon today’s youth is like a vicious current; strong,
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This corruption is ever-present in both Macbeth and today’s society, which is another reason why Macbeth is still relevant to a contemporary audience.
Power, and the corruption of it, is one of the main themes in Macbeth. As soon as Macbeth acquired power, his mind started to become corrupt. He did whatever it took to maintain his power and he started lusting for more of it. He corrupts his power when he murders Duncan, his guards, orders Banquo’s murder, and the murder of Macduff’s wife and son.
No one could confront Macbeth’s corruption because they didn’t have the authority to do so. Even Macbeth’s best friend was like a hare to a lion; helpless and incapable. Banquo was aware of his corruption when he said, “Thou hast it now - King, Cawdor, Glamis, all as the Weird Women promised; and I fear Thou play'dst most foully for't.” He apperceived that Macbeth was a murderer, but he couldn’t do anything about it since Macbeth had more power than him.
The relevance of this corruption is reflected in modern, contemporary texts. In the ‘Hunger Games,’ the government in the Capitol is corrupted because they use their power to ensure they get the majority of Panem’s wealth. This leaves the rest of the districts deprived and
Macbeth's solution of killing his current problem finalizes his actions of immorality as well as his foil found in Banquo. Even after his death, Banquo is able to keep his integrity and use it to punish, or even remind, Macbeth of his moral supremacy. Banquo returns, as a ?horrible shadow,? to haunt Macbeth at a feast and successfully does so to the point of 'unreal mock'ry' (III.iv), certainly driving Macbeth?s darkness into a phase of decay, leading to further irrationality. This continued irrationality is the cause of yet another stockpile of dead bodies, revealing Macbeth?s inability to cope in his dark
The capitol in The Hunger Games contains all of the politicians, important people, and those who are fortunate enough to stumble into one of those families but have no real importance. They live off of the districts bounties, find entertainment in the reapings, have no knowledge of what it means to have nothing, yet claim to be good leaders. The government
The distinction of Macbeth from Othello, Hamlet and King Lear lies in the fact that Macbeth gives one scope to study a man within a political set-up. Our interest increases also in the matter of issues how a survivor of his citizen turns to be the destroyer of his citizen. It is also noted that the leaders (Here Macbeth and Banquo should be remembered) of the state get exposed with the provocation of temptation for the permanent royalty of the state. But some one is tempted and other remains reluctant as they believe in the honest way of governing the citizen of the state.
Macbeth’s major dilemma in putting what is actually there and what is imagined perceptive is proven above to have brought Macbeth to his corruption, his inhumanity, and at last to his downfall. Because he does not know what is real, he thinks he was pulled to kill King Duncan and so he did; he thinks that Banquo is there to haunt him, and so he starts slipping up and his false face starts to show what his heart knows; he
In today's world, there are clear political and societal issues that can be compared to Macbeth, which is hundreds of years old. Americans, for example, are challenged to this day over the same political issues that arose during the time Macbeth was written: Macbeth rises and becomes a Tyrant, Lady Macbeth being an influence on Macbeth’s decision making, and even the Weird Sisters can all be compared to modern day issues. Several of the issues America faces today includes fake news, family troubles, and foreign dilemmas. Even though the play Macbeth was written hundreds of years ago, it seems as if history will repeat itself, and throughout lifetimes people will experience the same troubles.
Audience becomes aware of Macbeth’s corruption when he plans to kill his ‘friend’, Banquo. He describes him as “dispatched” (3.4.15), and later as “safe” (3.4.25). This positions the audience to feel as though Macbeth is somewhat desperate to convince himself that he has acted appropriately despite using corrupt power. Using this stylistic device of language further demonstrates that Macbeth has now been corrupted to the extent that he longer feels compassion for his former companions. This ultimately establishes the representation that Macbeth’s illegitimate power has directly resulted in his destructive nature.
I Malcolm, the new king of Scotland, was crowned right after the death of Macbeth. Macbeth was a cruel king and made everyone suffer during his reign. I believe that I was good king and after my crowning, I had noticed that many people were still unhappy and going through a tough time from Macbeth. The whole world has changed since Macbeth came into power. What Macbeth did was cruel and I had to go through a few steps to restore the peace. I did what any good king would do, which is to be close with everyone. I did not think it was going to be this hard to get back to the happiness they had. I really did gain their trust and made everyone smile again. He had restored peace and order, but there also were some challenges to face. I had feared that people would try to kill me for the throne. Just like Macbeth, he would kill the king to take the throne. I did not trust anyone around me, even my most dearest relatives and friends. I had trouble
In this world, one of the strongest human drives seems to be the desire for power. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Thane Macbeth seeks to gain power over Scotland. Through Macbeth’s search for power, he must choose between what is morally right or his inner motives. Macbeth gains power over others through the murders of King Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s entire family along with his servants. After each murder, Macbeth becomes more confident in his search to gain power.
After Macbeth and Banquo receive prophecies, the foil characters start to diverge as Banquo’s takes the moral path of goodness while Macbeth takes the immoral path towards his ultimate decline. Banquo and Macbeth have the opportunity to pursue the same path, but because of his unchecked ambition, Macbeth deviates from Banquo's path of good morals. Immediately after the witches tell their prophecies, Banquo’s mindset is wary and rational. He warns Macbeth that, “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths...” (1.3.125-126). Banquo is not obsessed with the prophecies and the idea that one day his ancestors will be kings. On the other hand, Macbeth speculates, “Two truths are told, / as happy prologues to the swelling act / of the imperial theme.” (1.3.130-132) Because two of the three prophecies have come true, Macbeth is blinded by his ambition and seems to fantasize about the idea of being king. These contrasting reactions show that Macbeth takes a
Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, is a play that transcends time due to its timeless and universal themes. The themes presented in this play are just as relevant to modern audiences as they would have been to contemporary Elizabethan audiences. The play has been able to maintain its textual integrity, withstanding the fact that it is now performed out of its original context to remain a successful play for modern audiences. The issues of heroism, abuse of power and the deceptiveness of appearances are all key within the play, conveyed through the use of dramatic and literary techniques, are issues which still resonate with contemporary audiences. Shakespeare has tested the parameters of the conventional tragedy that was extremely popular during his lifetime and in doing so has created text, which is still relevant today.
The importance of continuing to read Macbeth in our modern society is to educate readers on valuable lessons in life. The significance of gaining power appropriately, the fact that there are consequences for every action and the importance of justice are a few of the many life lessons that are relevant in Shakespeare 's tragedy, Macbeth.
The totalitarian government of Panem is noticeably corrupted because of the drastic differences in the treatment of its citizens. The capitol certainly doesn’t oppress its wealthy citizens. The wealthy are well fed, protected, isolated from the other endeavouring districts, and have plenty of anything they might desire. An example would be on page 79 of the novel, “What must it be like, I wonder, to be living in a world where food appears at the press of a button?”, this certainly displays the Capitol's wealth and power over the districts, they hardly give anything to the useless districts (in their eyes). Moreover, the people in the capitol and district one are hardly working to gain the food, they receive most of their food from district eleven, one of the most hated. Evidentially This shows how corrupted and advantageous the capitol is. Another example of this would be when Katniss and Cinna had lunch. With simply a press of a button, Cinna releases a variety range of foods. Starting from chicken, vegetables, and fruits. Katniss “(tries) to imagine assembling this meal back home, chickens (were) too expensive” the poverty of the districts clearly is shown, the totalitarian government of Panem hardly
Both themes in the play have a connection to real life situations that are relevant to today’s society. All of us have moments in our lives in which we must choose between goodness and greed, and, when we choose poorly, our lives, our families and even our countries turn out to be just as fragile. It is in the blood of most people to desire more power but it is some that take it further into an obsession which leads to improper actions. Macbeth shows us what the lure of power can do, and how it can make a person blind to moral reason and common sense. The envy and desire to possess and people’s willingness to do anything to get it is something that relates to any setting. The main moral message is about naked, unchecked, almost brutal ambition, and the lengths that a person will pursue it to achieve ultimate power. A modern equivalence that can be drawn to this scene is Hitler during WWII. Hitler had a lot in common with Macbeth, including the steady history of betrayals and will willingness to commit unspeakable crimes against other human beings to advance his cause. Another characteristic of Macbeth is his paranoia which results from the predictions of the witches. Because
The Hunger Games promotes the idea of a total government control. The Capitol controls everything that the twelve districts do. The world of Panem is divided into 12 districts where each district has its own role to fulfill from luxury to coal mining. "Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch. This is the Capitol's way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy" (Collins 18). This shows that the districts all pay a yearly sacrifice to the Capitol in the form of tributes. Another of showing that the Games is a dystopian society is that any evidence of an act of rebellion will result in the government having to kill anyone who gets in their way. "Look how he take your children and sacrifice them there is nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District 13" (18).
“Macbeth” is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1606. “Macbeth” is about a nobleman called Macbeth. Macbeth is told by three witches that he will be king. To bring this prophecy to fruition, he kills anyone and everyone in his way. How are the themes, messages and ideas present in “Macbeth” relevant to contemporary society? Contemporary means “belonging to or occurring in the present.” Some themes and ideas in “Macbeth” are relevant to modern society. For example, appearances can be deceiving and Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Some of the themes and ideas in “Macbeth” relate to contemporary Society, possibly better then they related to society and culture in 1606.