The play of “Macbeth” contains many of the themes also incorporated into WWI poetry; themes such as violence, patriotism, gore, manipulation, fear and cowardice through the characters of Macbeth, the witches, Banquo’s ghost and Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare’s use of techniques such as metaphors, juxtaposition, emotive language and irony are also used in poems by Rupert Brooke, Frederic Manning, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.
In Act 1, Scene 5 of “Macbeth”, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as manipulative and spiteful. This is shown when she persuades Macbeth to “Look like th’innocent flower but be the serpent under’t”. This presents the reader with insight into Lady Macbeth’s character, suggesting she is teaching Macbeth this trait from her own experience. Shakespeare had used irony to highlight Lady Macbeth’s use of manipulation and her spiteful personality. Similarly in Siegfried Sassoon’s “Glory of Women”, the women are highlighted as spiteful and hypocritical. This is conveyed when he states “You make us shells” and “you believe that chivalry redeems the war's disgrace”. This highlights Sassoon's attitude to women during WWI, implying in the literal sense they are making shells and prolonging the war, but also implying that they are hollowing out the men, making them empty shells, in a spiteful manner. It also exhibits the naïvety of women, who believe that the war is honourable and just.
In Act 1, Scene 7 of “Macbeth”, Lady Macbeth is presented as naïve and apathetic. She taunts Macbeth, asking him if he is prepared to “live a coward in thine own esteem” and “art thou afeard?”. This reveals Lady Macbeth's malicious, malevolent, apathetic and naïve attitude as she leads Macbeth to dangerous situations; believing one man can do so ...
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...itude of Macbeth and the propagandists of WWI.
In conclusion, many of the themes in “Macbeth” are also presented in WWI poetry; themes such as violence, betrayal, manipulation, fear and patriotism. The statement is certainly justifiable as there is clear evidence linking the themes of the texts together. In the texts, the themes have been portrayed, emphasised and conveyed effectively to the reader through the use of emotive language, powerful imagery and various devices in the writing to help express the thoughts and motions of the writer to the reader. However, not all the themes of “Macbeth” may be in every piece of WWI poetry, but many have clear definitive links in the themes of the texts between both “Macbeth” and WWI poetry.
Works Cited
Macbeth, Banquo, Siegfried Sassoon, th'innocent look like th'innocent flower but be the serpent under't art thou afeard
Most people probably thought that Lady Macbeth did not have a humane side to herself and is self-centered. When Lady Macbeth was hiding in the bushes waiting for Macbeth to return, she was talking to herself. At the beginning of Act II scene 2, Lady Macbeth shows her sympathetic side by stating “He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t.” Lady Macbeth is inherently a person with emotional attachment, but when it comes to her ambitious needs, she shows a different side of herself.
The story of Lady Macbeth throughout Macbeth is one unlike those of its time in its unusually forward-thinking portrayal of a woman with thoughts and actions which would have been considered indecent. This is seen through the representation of her relationship with Macbeth and how they interact. It is also illustrated through Lady Macbeth’s morals and their effect on how she acts and reacts in situations which would weigh heavily on most peoples’ conscious. Her power-hungry attitude is one often reserved for men, especially in this era of literature. All of these factors create a character in Lady Macbeth which is dissimilar to the classic portrayal of women in the seventeenth century.
Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. As she is Macbeth’s wife, her role is significant in his rise and fall from royalty. She is Macbeth’s other half. During Shakespearean times, women were regarded as weak insignificant beings that were there to give birth and look beautiful. They were not thought to be as intelligent or equal to men. Though in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the highest influence in Macbeth’s life. Her role was so large; in fact, that she uses her position to gain power, stay strong enough to support her unstable Lord, and fails miserably while their relationship falls apart. Everything about Lady Macbeth is enough to create the perfect villain because of her ability to manipulate everyone around her. It appears that even she can’t resist the perfect crime.
As Macbeth becomes less dependent on his wife, she loses more control. She loses control of her husband, but mostly, of herself, proving her vacillating truth. Lady Macbeth’s character gradually disintegrates through a false portrayal of unyielding strength, an unsteady control of her husband and shifting involvement with supernatural powers.Throughout the duration of play Lady Macbeth’s truly decrepit and vulnerable nature is revealed. Lady Macbeth has been the iron fist and authority icon for Macbeth, yet deep down, she never carried such traits to begin with. This duality in Lady Macbeth’s character plays a huge role in planting the seed for Macbeth’s downfall and eventual demise.
The main theme of Macbeth-the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints-finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder's aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth's repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one?s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne?Banquo, Fleance, Macduff?and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.
After struggling with the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth is reprimanded by Lady Macbeth for his lack of courage. She informs him that killing the king will make him a man, insinuating that he isn’t a man if he doesn’t go through with the murder. This develops Lady Macbeth as a merciless, nasty, and selfish woman. She will say, or do anything to get what she desires, even if it means harming others. It is this selfishness that makes it hard for the reader to be empathetic towards her later in the play, as it is evident in this scene that her hardships were brought on by herself. If she hadn’t insisted on the murder, she would not be driven in...
Lady Macbeth’s wicked character has an extreme impact towards her husband. Lady Macbeth is responsible for influencing her husband to commit both crimes; she unleashes the dark side of him and motivates him to become an evil and horrendous man. In various parts throughout the story we find that Lady Macbeth strives beyond limits to be converted into a bitter and sour women. The audience is revolted by her horrific actions and although she may seem repugnant, she is an extremely talented actor. In her role, having a deceitful and convincing character is important
Lady Macbeth was “choked with ambition”. Her infatuation to be queen is the single feature that Shakespeare developed far beyond that of her counterpart in the historical story he used as his source. Lady Macbeth persistently taunts her husband for his lack of courage, even though we know of his bloody deeds on the battlefield. At this point in time, with all her will converging towards seizing the throne, she has shown no signs of remorse or hesitance in her actions and hence preventing the events in the narrative from digressing away from imperative themes and climaxes of the play.
Works Cited:.. Shakespeare, William. The. Macbeth. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
Macbeth is a brave general who fights for his country Scotland, defeating the King of Norway. He is loyal to his king Duncan, but Macbeth has ambition to take over the kingdom for himself. He has lots of doubts of if he is doing the right thing, but still murders Duncan and then Banquo who is another general who fought with Macbeth. These murders and guilt about his treason are leading Macbeth to become insane. This essay shows that although Macbeth’s strong desire for power is influenced by the three witches in the play and also the planning and ambition of his wife Lady Macbeth, in the end he is responsible for his self-destruction.
Initially, Macbeth is a confident man battle-hardened and fearless. He cuts an enemy “from naval to jaw” in battle and seeks to gain glory and power. The captain says, “fear brave Macbeth,” and well he deserved that name. Macbeth is a great warrior and never would consider a murderous act before Lady Macbeth’s interference. The witches’ prophesies do not seem feasible to him at first so he does not act upon them. Lady Macbeth is a wicked woman who does much to affect Macbeth’s overall character.
A.C. Bradley’s interpretation of Macbeth finds him human, conflicted, and comparable to his wife, Lady Macbeth, in many respects. They share a common ambition and a common conscience sensitive enough to feel the effects of their ambition. But the story, Bradley contends, is built upon the traits that set them apart. He focuses mainly on Macbeth. Macbeth is a character of two battling halves: his reason, or ambition, and his “imagination.” Bradley attributes the hysterical nature of Macbeth’s visions, the dagger, the specter of Banquo, and other ghosts, to his wild imagination. He “acts badly” (Bradley, 136) and loses his composure whenever his imagination triumphs over his practical side; however, Bradley also asserts that Macbeth’s imagination is “the best of him, something usually deeper and higher than his conscious thoughts” (133). Macbeth is therefore unable to make use of the “better” imagination with which he was endowed and instead only appears “firm, self-controlled and practical” when he is “hateful” (136). A product of these clashing sides, Macbeth’s murder of Duncan is borne of his inability to properly acknowledge the conclusions drawn by his imagination. In his soliloquies and in...
Lady Macbeth is the first to strategize a way to kill Duncan. As a character foil to Macbeth she juxtaposes their possession of guilt and ruthlessness, which creates irony and excitement to the play. Originally, she is very power hungry and wants to utilize her husband’s position in status to become queen. Macbeth objects to the plan to kill Duncan because he believes Duncan is Macbeth’s kinsman, host, and an overall virtuous ruler (Act. 1 Scene. 7) and thus feels very guilty for taking advantage of Duncan’s trusting quality towards the Macbeth family. She refers to Macbeth as weak and rebukes his manhood (Act 1. Scene 7.) . As the play progresses, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a character role reversal of their possession of guilt and ruthlessness. The character foil is extant, however Macbeth’s ruthlessness overcomes his guilt, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt vanquishes her drive for power. In addition to an alteration in character foils, Shakespeare introduces situational irony because now Lady Macbeth succumbs to the weakness Macbeth once possessed and Macbeth is the one who is formidable and ambitious. Macbeth’s ability to transcend his guilt exemplifies his struggle for power and reinforces the theme of evil ambition because Macbeth is able to secure the throne and power only by mass
Macbeth’s story highlights the inherent goodness found in all of us, but also the evil that lurks within us, unnourished. Although there is no redemption for Macbeth’s evil sins, he finally comes to acknowledge his crimes and thus can provoke pity in the eyes of the audience. Macbeth’s psychological journey from a courageous general to a “ dead butcher” (5.9.41) is one that truly merits to be called a tragedy.
This specific action consequently resulted in Macbeth’s level of morality to continually decline as he is acutely aware of his own tyranny. Therefore Macbeth attempts to forget the horrific deed he has committed and be the figure that orders and disorders. Our perception of Macbeth being a wise and loyal soldier is now eroded, as we start to view Macbeth constantly questioning his own actions, and is also impelled to perpetrate further atrocities with the intention of covering up his previous wrong-doings.