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William Shakespeare's play Macbeth has themes and characters that are still relevant today and this is what makes his work endure time. People are still motivated by greed, ambition, and jealousy today just like in Shakespeare's times. Macbeth wanted to be king and some people today would do anything for money and power. It is the themes and characters that explore these themes that allow people in the 21st century to continue to relate to the Shakespearean play Macbeth.
Shakespeare used his play Macbeth to show how power corrupts people. Macbeth begins as a good and worthy man, but unchecked ambition fuels his downfall through his corrupt behavior. The witches' prophecy corrupts Macbeth because he wants the power of the throne, but the only way that he can attain the throne is through evil deeds. Ambition and temptation both play a fundamental factor in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s decision to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth’s ambition is captured in “unsex me here. And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full”. This persuasive metaphor shows the bloody means she will go to seize the crown, showing her to be a character full of subterfuge and trickery. Macbeth considers the reason how he should kill Duncan“if it were done when it’s done, then ‘twere it were done quickly”. This thinking shows how Macbeth is a disloyal subject who is prepared to risk eternal damnation in his desire for power. Even though he understands that “bloody instruction being taught, return/ to plague the inventor” he continues to murder the Chamberlains to cover up his wrongdoing, and murders Banquo, his trustworthy and moral friend, and the Macduff family. These murders show how Macbeth's morals and mobility were greatly corrupted as he turned into a prideful tyrant that was lusting for power. Despite this Witches porosity, Macbeth’s pride has a fatal blind spot because he only takes from the Witches' prophecies what he wanted to hear. This blind spot leads to his ultimate downfall and death. Shakespeare cleverly shows that the protagonist Macbeth shows ambition and power can corrupt the mind.
Ambition and temptation both play a fundamental factor in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s decision to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth’s ambition is captured here “unsex me here. And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full”. This persuasive metaphor shows the bloody means she will go to seize the crown, showing her to be a character full of subterfuge and trickery. Lady Macbeth is also corrupted by power and ambition. Lady Macbeth used an elaborate metaphor to portray her ideas and her understanding to commit a murder, she must remove all feminist qualities and feelings of guilt from her mind. Through this quote, we can understand Lady Macbeth’s raw ambition for power. Themes of unchecked ambition and power are still relevant in today's society and can be seen when people sacrifice their morals to achieve their goals. In today's society, women can coax men to kill an enemy. Such killings are common in the Mafia especially when women hold power and run drug rings. This demonstrates that ambition and temptation are themes that endure time and we continue to have people in our modern-day society who are ambitious and led by temptation.
Unchecked ambition leads to people becoming caught up in their own evil deeds and as events turn against them, they suffer emotionally and psychologically. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are struggling from guilt and trauma from their past and the soliloquy shows how they are struggling. Shakespeare uses soliloquy to show how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are struggling. The scene at the dinner party was a turning point in the play because it's a sign that Macbeth has signs of post-traumatic disorder and flashbacks that ghosts are coming to kill him. Macbeth says to Banquo, “Thou canst not say I did never shake thy gory locks at me”. Lady Macbeth says in the soliloquy, “Out damned spot out I say- one two why then it's to do ‘t hell is murky.” She is suffering from flashbacks that are linked to her guilt from all her horrible decisions from persuading her husband into murdering the king. These themes are still relevant today because when people have blood on their hands they will after a time feel guilt and remorse. Even for soldiers who are trained to kill, the act of killing a human is such a traumatic experience that it haunts you for the rest of your life. You can see this psychological and emotional trauma in modern soldiers who have come home from wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan. People still struggle with unchecked ambition and it is an ambition that drives people’s downfalls still in society today.
Shakespeare uses deception as a main theme in the play which comes out in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth when they use it to deceive the other characters to cover up their own violence. The witches said, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”.This is a paradox: it contradicts itself. The audience is left to stop and think about these words deeply.
Lady Macbeth said, “Look like an innocent flower/ but be the serpent under’t”; a simile that supports Shakespeare's motif, a technique that highlights how deception ends in tragedy. Macbeth says to Duncan, ”And our duties are to your throne and state and servants, which do but what they should be doing everything safe towards your love and honor.”
This is ironic because it's all a lie because Macbeth is about to kill King Duncan. Shakespeare's theme, deception is still very relevant today. People, like Lance Armstrong, have become well known for the deception about drug use in the Tour de France. He is one of many athletes who take illegal performance-enhancing drugs to deceive the sporting world and the public about their cheating behavior.
Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth is still relevant to modern audiences because people are still caught up in ambition and the need for greed and power. People today like in Shakespeare's time are still caught up in their own egos and still engaging in corrupt behavior. The thirst for power blinds people to go against common morals. At its worst today and then, people still engaged in violent behavior toward others. Shakespeare's themes of ambition, desperation, and guilt are clearly evident in our modern society. From politicians to soldiers, CEOs to everyday people there is evidence that power corrupts human beings. This behavior is shown most in people who are in power such as the mafia drug rings and criminals.
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