Manal Faleh Essays - Characters In Macbeth, English-language Films

Manal Faleh Professor Kristen Mistler AP English 12 15 December 2016 Macbeth Timed Writing (1999) Laurence Stern once wrote that no one can feeling of having your mind pulling in two separate directions, except he who is feeling it himself. In Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, there is an obvious example of this feeling. Macbeth's desires and ambitions pull him between light and darkness, causing at battle in the inner corners of his subconscious. Drawing from one motif in this play, we see that Macbeth is portrayed as a loyal general, nobleman, and servant of King Duncan and Scotland as a whole. This would represent the light within Macbeth, before the corruption of power. When Banquo and Macbeth hear the prophecy from the three witches, they both measly brush it off, and even make sarcastic jokes. We first begin to notice the light, or good, in Macbeth in this very scene. The thought of becoming Thane of Cawdor, and one day, King of Scotland, didn't register in Macbeth's mind until he was, indeed, appointed Thane of Cawdor. One part of the prophecy has proven true, and this only awakens the hunger for success in Macbeth. At this point in the play, we witness light's sister motif, darkness, creeping up on Macbeth. Now that he has gotten a taste of prosperity, he only grows hungry for more. Upon sharing the news of the prophecy with his wife, Lady Macbeth, she becomes the driving force of Macbeth's questions of his allegiance to King Duncan. He fully understands the consequences of murder, and even admits to risking eternal damnation to reach his ambitions. We note the two conflicting directions of Macbeth's mind when he agrees to commit the murder, but relays his concerns and cowardice to Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth shames Macbeth by telling him he isn't a real man, because he isn't acing on his desire to become king. She eventually convinces him to do the deed. In the immediate moments after the murder, Macbeth show fear and regret. "Still it cried Sleep no more!' to all the house: Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more; Macbeth shall sleep no more." (Act 11, Scene 11, Lines 701-703) His hands touched with blood, signifying the guilt behind the murder. To tie the conflict between light and darkness to the literary work as a whole, we are shown that often times, it may seem as though darkness helps achieve the goals and ambitions at hand, but everything comes with a price. Macbeth experienced paranoia, deceit, and the suicide of Lady Macbeth. Darkness eventually overtook Macbeth as a whole, even down to the mere minutes before his demise.