The Loyalty of Masculinity
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth the main theme of loyalty is explored throughout the play by main characters. Loyalty can be defined as faithfulness or unwavering devotion to a person or cause. Duncan, Banquo, Macduff and Macbeth are all essential characters who are given opportunities to express their loyalty, however it is the different ways in which these characters choose to be loyal or disloyal that shape the play as a whole. It is the character’s loyalty and/or disloyalty that construct the course of the play. The theme of loyalty interrelates the over arching themes of guilt and masculinity throughout the play.
Throughout Duncan’s reign he remains a loyal king especially to those who he believes are
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As indicated in the satge direction Banquo even stops talking as soon as Macbeth enters the scene. Banquo’s loyalty differentiates him from Macbeth in many ways. Both Macbeth and Banquo are given auguries, which serve as temptation to do evil. However it is Banquo’s repression of his desires that allow him to maintain unwavering devotion.
Macbeth originally appears to be a devoted constituent of society through his early actions and battles for Scotland. Despite Macbeth’s original loyalty he eventually fails and his appetite for ambition overcomes him. Macbeth, unlike Banquo, allows the witches’ prophecy, “thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor and king thereafter” take over his whole being as he becomes so captivated by the idea of being king. Macbeth takes his desires to a whole new level by stooping so low as to kill king Duncan with his own hands, “ I have done the deed… will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hands no, this my hand will rather turn the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red” (act II scene 2: lines 77-81). Macbeth’s act of killing the king portrays his disloyalty to someone who gave him so much. This passage not only reveals the theme of loyalty but introduces guilt, another theme in the play. The metaphor and symbolism of Macbeth’s hands turning the ocean red from Duncan’s blood visually brings these two themes closely together. Macbeth’s deed is so bad that not even
Not surprisingly, Macbeth has received volumes of critical commentary over the years. Not only is the play an audience favorite, but its complex characterization, deeply woven themes, and characteristic Shakespearean style make it rich ground for scholarly inquiry. Critics such as Harold Bloom have remarked on the importance of Macbeth in the context of Shakespeare 's works. In Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Bloom writes, ' 'The rough magic in Macbeth is wholly Shakespeare 's; he indulges his own imagination as never before, seeking to find its moral limits (if any). ' ' Bloom also remarks, ' 'Macbeth is an uncanny unity of setting, plot, and characters, fused together beyond comparison with any other play of Shakespeare 's. '
Banquo's declaration of allegiance also allows for proof towards his unchanging ideals, whereas immorality and blind ambition poison Macbeth?s thoughts. Macbeth describes his fear of Banquo shrewdly in that they ?stick deep, and his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared. ?Tis much he dares he hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor to act in safety? (III.i). Macbeth concludes his friend has remained his pure self and therefore is his moral antithesis. Banquo continues to hold a much clearer grip on life and real quality as a man in comparison to Macbeth, hence, Macbeth is forced to kill him if he is to follow through with his plan and go down a dark road.
“Macbeth” and “Macbeth retold” by Mark Brozel, share many comparisons yet have many vital differences.
Gone Girl is a bestseller and loved by millions, it compliments english literature and course themes. Grade 11 courses would benefit from replacing boring, old Macbeth with the thriller, Gone Girl. Not only is Gone Girl an overall better, more intriguing book, it also has more of an educational value when compared with Macbeth. It has many ties into the established curriculum and creates better learning opportunities. Both students and the school system would greatly benefit from swapping Shakespeare's Macbeth with Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.
Selfish desires and ambitions can have great sovereignty over one's actions as their thirst for power only grows. In the play, a loyal, honourable hero transforms into an evil murderer which is driven by his greed and ambition. Macbeth is portrayed as a brave, loyal and courageous nobleman who is incapable of committing evil deeds. Nevertheless, this changes when the witches prophecies are introduced which causes macbeth to think about his aspirations for power and his nobility ranking. He betrays king Duncan when he kills him and obtains the Scottish throne for himself. An example of his loyalty in the beginning of the play in the place when king Duncan thanks Macbeth for his bravery and victory in the battle; Macbeth responds and says, “The service and loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself. Your Highness’ part is to receive our duties, and our duties are to your throne and state children and servants. Which do what they should, by doing everything safe toward your love and honour” (I, iv, 25-30). Macbeth is pleading a great deal of loyalty by expressing that serving him is its own reward and
The Tragedy of Macbeth shows several different forms of relationships ranging in different levels of commitment, trust and understanding. Whether it be Macbeth and the Witches having an informational/friendly relationship that ultimately ended in many murders or Macbeth and Lady Macbeth having not only a family relationship but a political and even criminal relationship that resulted in too much power and greed. Relationships like these formed the plot of this play and make it interesting. Relationships are formed in so many levels and outsides easily can change the views of these relationships causing those involved to change their beliefs and opinions of others because the other relationships take more of a precedence than the original.
‘Macbeth’ a Scottish play known as one of Shakespeare’s best plays was written in 1611 by William Shakespeare, during that time King James the 1st was the king of Scotland, the Jacobean times was a time where people had a fascination with witches and witchcraft, ‘Daemonolgie’ was a book written by King James the 1st himself, this was about ways to spot a witch, which intrigued people. Since ‘Macbeth’ has a Scottish theme Shakespeare may have written this play to please King James since there is references to Banquo which is a direct descendant of King James, also it is said that Banquo wasn’t a very nice man but Shakespeare presents him as very loyal and kind person
Shakespeare's shortest play, Macbeth, is also, consequently, his most shocking and intense. We see the essence of tragedy: in this case, the protagonist transforms himself from a noble warrior who is loyal to his king and fights for his county to a reduced tyrant by the play's end. Macbeth's divided soul which is in turmoil is the cause of his deterioration from a respected warrior to a despised tyrant.
As popular music producer, rapper, and artist, Fetty Wap once said “My whole thing is loyalty. Loyalty over royalty; word is bond.” as humans we see symbols in nearly every form of literature, from urban pop culture to shakespeare. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare a loyal lord the king ends up receiving a new title and in turn receives more power and becomes next in line to the throne. As he realizes his new found greed for power Macbeth ends up assassinating the current king, King Duncan, he also is influenced by more greed and kills his best friend, Banquo, in an attempt to stop his son from overthrowing him. Eventually the people of scotland become aware of his tyranny and get Duncan's kin to overthrow Macbeth and end his reign
“Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet for I fear thy nature; It is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way” (Shakespeare 1.5.12-15). Lady Macbeth is the bad influence Macbeth has in his life that persuades him into killing King Duncan and rushes into being King. Before Macbeth became paranoid after the brutal death of King Duncan, he was a worthy captain of the kings army. “The service and the loyalty I owe in doing it pays itself. Your Highness’ part is to receive our duties, and our duties are to your throne and state children and servants, which do but what they should by doing everything safe toward your honor and love” (Shakespeare
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character’s goal is to become the king. Macbeth seeks to gain as much power as he possibly can and this ultimately leads to his demise. He hears the prophecy of the witches and becomes so obsessed with fulfilling the prophecy because it states that he will eventually become king. Having this information, Macbeth goes out of his way to force the prophecy to come true. He becomes so power hungry that he tries to force fate leaving him with an undeniable guilt for his actions, the loss of love from the people who once loved him, and a harsh death in the end.
Macbeth also shows himself to be loyal, when telling King Duncan that everything he does is in loyalty and service to Duncan. He says to Duncan:
In the book Macbeth was opposite of the lady Macbeth at first he had emotion and she knew that killing the king wasn’t a right thing to do but as soon she killed the king he became ruthless and he start killing more people because he thought by killing people no one would be able to replace him but yet he felt so wick and vulnerable inside. “will all the great Neptune’s ocean this blood clean from my hand? This my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red. (II.ii.81-84) in this quote Macbeth is telling his wife how he is feels so guilty and he has so much blood in his hand that he can turn the sea red. Later on in the book Macbeth hires people to go and kill Banquo and his son because the which’s predicted
As a virgin to The Shakespeare Theatre, I was pleasantly surprised when my recent encounter with Macbeth was a stimulating and enjoyable excursion. The two and a half hours I had predicted to be less than enchanting were filled with symbolism, and an overall attitude towards the Shakespeare classic that I had never contemplated before.