Macbeth & Othello Advanced Essay

A man of many words, a many of many ideas creating incredible plays that have tragic ends, that man is Shakespeare. William Shakespeare had created two characters that continuously change throughout his plays. In both plays of Macbeth and Othello, both characters change for the worst, ultimately ending in their down fall. Macbeth had been both a victim of his wife’s duplicitous ways, yet he also became a terrifying man, Shakespeare create this through his creative use of figurative language and character development. In a similar situation of being a victim, Othello starts off as a good man then becomes someone beyond belief of what he had become. In Othello, Shakespeare uses metaphors, anecdotes and symbolism. In both plays they have a similar theme, things may not always be as they seem. In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare interprets his theme well by creating a nobleman, who then get caught up in his own avarice for the crown.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth creates an element like no other, using both character development and figurative language he is able to change Macbeth into only showing his evil side. In the beginning of Shakespeare’s play, Shakespeare has Macbeth as a man of honor, but all this changes by the slight implantation of an idea of receiving a new title, “ My worthy Cawdor! [Aside] The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step… Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.54-59). Showing the development of Macbeth’s thoughts from which he was becoming into something that he would not wish himself to be. Macbeth wishes to change his mind, yet his wife influences him with her ways of words, “ look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t” (1.5.75-77). As Lady Macbeth begins to confuse Macbeth’s line of thinki...

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...d by their sheer changes of development in character. Macbeth had changed greatly from being a rising soldier in the ranks, to a king who killed all those around him, “ Enter ghost of Banquo”(3.4.46). Similarly Othello had the same scenario, yet his downfall was by his jealousy and disbelief of his wife’s devotion to him, “There’s the money for your pains. [He gives her money.] I pray you turn the key and keep our counsel” (4.2.108-110). Both were depicted as victims of their beginnings, yet were changed into something incomprehensible to themselves later. Both themes are similar, yet they are different in a way, Shakespeare depicted an indefinite amount of images to create his theme for both plays. In a way Shakespeare connected these two works by causing both victims of the grief caused by things may not always be as they seem, one cannot always trust what is seen.