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Theme Of Loyalty In Macbeth Retold

Decent Essays

A question to consider- What will you do if you’re most loyal friend oversees you cheating in a test? Would you bribe them? Murder them? Confess or stay quiet and feel guilty?

Macbeth is a classic when we talk about universal themes. By comparing Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Peter Moffat’s adaptation film Macbeth Retold we can definitely see the emphasis on universal themes of loyalty and guilt. Both texts stress the importance of loyalty as the integral trigger for guilt, allowing greater insight into universal themes. While Shakespeare employs literary techniques and various characters, Moffat manipulates motifs and filming techniques and to convey undermining themes of devotion and guilt. Both composers simultaneously demonstrate the timelessness …show more content…

Foremost amongst these is the fundamental role of loyalty in friendship between Banquo and Macbeth. Banquo’s soliloquy, “Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, as the weird women promised, and I fear, Thou played’st most foully for ’t. “[Act III Scene I Lines 1-3] enlightens us of Banquo’s thoughts, suspecting Macbeth murders King Duncan. We are glad to see that he does not reveal his thoughts nor stop him, which exhibits the qualities of a faithful friend. Banquo’s truncated sentence “But hush, no more.”[Act III Scene I Line 10] reinforces our understanding of his loyalty reassuring that he will stay loyal despite knowing the evils deeds of Macbeth. We can gather from these examples that Banquo was loyal to Macbeth to the point of hiding the truth, giving audiences greater insight into universal …show more content…

This is demonstrated through characters such as Lady Macbeth. After King Duncan was murdered, Lady Macbeth soothes Macbeth of his crimes, “ a little water clears us of the deed” such irony keeps us in suspense whilst making it humorous when we see Lady Macbeth fall into mental ruin. Continuously Shakespeare emphasises the guilt of her sins with scenes of her washing her hands rid of the imaginary ‘blood’. Such symbolism contrasts with her previous statement of water washing away the blood indicating that she will never be cleansed of her sins. Furthermore her exclamation “Out damned spot! Out, I say!” is used to convey high emotion and increase the tension and urgency as symptoms of instability. We can deduce from such examples that guilt ultimately drives even the most confident and cunning characters into insanity giving us insight into consequences particular universal

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