Past cultures often showed the dualities of humanity in their stories, their scriptures, and their deities; they all expressed the good and the evil sides of humans. By reading and analyzing these literary works, one can start to understand the true intentions of humanity. William Shakespeare, an English playwright, understood these characteristics that all humans possess, and used his plays show this understanding to the audiences. Shakespeare used the characters of his plays, and their actions to represent the dual human nature of good and evil.
Naturally, human beings are very opportunistic. If humans are faced with a situation that will benefit them, then they will usually take advantage of that situation. In times like this, humans often put aside potential consequences, meaning that the intentional or unintentional destruction of lives, homes, and surroundings do not alter their intentions. This follows accordingly with the Incentive Theory of Motivation which suggests that humans are pulled into action by outside incentives. "Building on the base established by drive theories, incentive theories emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. Incentive theories proposed that behavior is motivated by the "pull" of external goals, such as rewards, money, or recognition." (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2003). In William Shakespeare’s plays, he exemplifies the Theory of Motivation in Macbeth’s rise to power, showing that even the most noble can succumb to the temptations of evil. Celebrated for his loyalty and accomplishments under King Duncan, Macbeth initially represented the noble, good nature of humanity. After learning of Macbeth’s victory over Macdonwald, a sergeant of the King’s army referred to him as “brave Macbeth”, and then said “he de...
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...ation." About.com Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. This website was used to gain further knowledge on how the incentive theory works, and how it affects people.
"The Lucifer Effect: Why Good People Turn Evil | The Vienna Review." The Vienna Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. This website was used to determine what factors cause humans to start showing flawed qualities.
"TED Conversations." Is Humanity Inherently Good or Evil? N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. This TED talk was used to see how others view the dual qualities of good and evil.
Rea, Cornelius, Don H. Hockenbury, and Sandra E. Hockenbury. Study Guide to Accompany Discovering Psychology, Fifth Edition, Don H. Hockenbury, Sandra E. Hockenbury. New York, NY: Worth, 2010. Print. This was used to further the understanding of how the human thought processes are affected by rewards and ego boosts.
Many people have different views on the moral subject of good and evil or human nature. It is the contention of this paper that humans are born neutral, and if we are raised to be good, we will mature into good human beings. Once the element of evil is introduced into our minds, through socialization and the media, we then have the potential to do bad things. As a person grows up, they are ideally taught to be good and to do good things, but it is possible that the concept of evil can be presented to us. When this happens, we subconsciously choose whether or not to accept this evil. This where the theories of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke become interesting as both men differed in the way they believed human nature to be. Hobbes and Locke both picture a different scene when they express human nature.
Shakespeare introduces to us a character who is evil according to the moral judgement of the moment. He does not respect the social values and norms. For him social taboos such as incest and crimes such as murder cease to be wrong once they become instruments of power. He is Satan incarnated, cunning, greedy and destructive. He has no respect for those who observe social, norms, family ethics and political loyalty.
Shakespeare’s plays show the complexity of human beings. Everyone is different in reactions, actions, and thought. Shakespeare explores various themes throughout his writing career. Each play is unique, and their themes are handled in a very distinct way as Shakespeare writes each work with great care. Two major themes are appearance versus reality and relationship between motive and will; Othello, Hamlet, and Henry IV, Part 1 all portray these two themes in similar and different ways.
Consequently, the actions of Adam and Eve have opened the doors for the two types of evil we see today, moral and natural. “Natural evil is the consequence of moral evil” (Elwell,...
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the author tries to show the true nature of man by using the play’s main character, Macbeth, as an example. He is overly ambitious, courageous, and self-doubting. Throughout the play, Shakespeare displays these characteristics to the audience through Macbeth to show the true nature of man. At the end of the play, these characteristics ultimately lead to Macbeth’s downfall.
By using just the right combination of words, or by coming up with just the right image, Shakespeare wrote many passages and entire plays that were so powerful, moving, tragic, comedic, and romantic that many are still being memorized and performed today, almost four centuries later. But the greatness of Shakespeare’s ability lies not so much in the basic themes of his works but in the creativity he used to write these stories of love, power, greed, discrimination, hatred, and tragedy.
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
No matter how different we think that we are, as a human race, the feelings that are brought out in Shakespeare's plays bring us together in spirit.
“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” (Eleanor Roosevelt). This is just one of the infinite examples of how human nature has been explored by so many different people. Each and every human is born with the capability of making their own choices. The decisions that they will make in the future will determine how evil they are viewed by others. Although one’s nature and nurture do affect their life, it is their own free will that determines whether or not they are evil.
We see humanism in all of Shakespeare’s characters. He does not judge or label them but rather gave them each strengths, weaknesses, and flaws. “Shakespeare transforms these figures into complex personalities, allowing them full freedom to falter and fail through their own actions.”(3:100) The play consisted of human interaction especially in the case of the character Iago, who is the personification of evil. Shakespeare also introduced the hero, Othello, as a black man, which is not stereotypical for that time. Each character makes their own decisions and has their own flaws, which is very humanistic. Shakespeare’s use of tragedy shows, “…in a universe in which order and disorder coexist, human choices play a vital and potentially destructive part.”(3:100)
The vigorous desire to achieve and willingly attain something holds the capability to greatly affect one's life. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth establishes the immense effect and influence of ambition. After gaining power over his country Scotland, the protagonist, Macbeth, experiences an internal downfall as he battles between his wants and moral judgement. He struggles to maintain stable relationships with others as his selfish desires and goals hurt those around him when achieved. In addition to clashing with himself and others, he is seen as a tyrant leader and is slowly turned against by Scotland's nation as well as England. Shakespeare's play Macbeth provides the reader with a clear understanding of ambition's corrupting power in Shakespeare's tragic character Macbeth, through his inner conflicts, struggle to maintain stable relationships with those surrounding him, and clash with society.
In Shakespeare’s play, "The Tempest," an underlying theme of barbarism versus civilization appears. Shakespeare creates characters that exemplify symbols of nature or nurture. The symbolism of the characters is derived from their actions. These actions show Shakespeare’s view of the uncivilized and the civilized, as well as help the reader develop his own opinion of each side.
Mcclelland, David C. "Toward a Theory of Motive Acquisition." American Psychologist 20.5 (1965): 321-33. Web.
In this essay I will look at the ways that Shakespeare has contrasted evil with good in his play Macbeth. The play revolves around the bad and wicked qualities in human nature, but Shakespeare also contrasts this evil with the power of good. This contrast between good and evil is a recurring theme throughout Macbeth.
It is said that no other playwright illustrates the human condition like William Shakespeare. Furthermore, it is said that no other play illustrates the human condition like King Lear. The story of a bad king who becomes a good man is truly one of the deepest analyses of humanity in literary history; and it can be best seen through the evolution of Lear himself. In essence, King Lear goes through hell in order to compensate for his sins.