Monday, January 27, 2014

Shakespeare and human nature.

Macbeth
Part II 


Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, better known by most of the world due to his unique works. In them, he uses metric for an specific purpose because he wants to transmit something to the reader. It is amazing how he achieved to have a giant impact on the readers with his words, it obviously that he knew how to express his feelings in a piece of paper. Undoubtedly, his works were, are and will be some of the most precious and privileged creations in Literature.



File:Shakespeare.jpg
One of his most famous creations is Macbeth, which I talked about in my last post. The thing here is that Macbeth contains a message related to human nature in the seek of power. According to Hobbes's philosophy, all men are equal by nature but each one of them looks for their own conservation that leads to competition and mistrust between each other, starting to live in a permanent war field. 

Each and every one of  humans on Earth, look for their own benefit. At the beginning of the "competition" in their seek for power, they may seem to be caring towards others but at the end the main priority is themselves. It doesn't matter if at the end they end up hurting someone as long as they have what they wanted, they will be satisfied.

The problem is that whenever humans achieve what they wanted in first place, they will be happy momentarily, but will want to have more and more. It's in the nature of humans be competitive and to have an unfulfilled appetite of having infinite power, just as Hobbes said: "man is a wolf to man".

"There is no such thing as perpetual tranquility
of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense".
-Thomas Hobbes 

In comparison, Shakespeare exemplifies in Macbeth this philosophy. At the beginning of the novel, we can see that Macbeth is a man that would do anything in order to have a place in the throne, even if this means that he has to take away someone's life. He killed his own cousin and best friend, that caused him to be blinded by his hunger for power. 

It is inferred from this novel that there is always a karma that makes people have in return what they have done. This karma is not necessarily bad but it is just about the rules of life, you get what you give. Macbeth is the example of human nature in its very worst way, that is the reason why Macbeth ended up being murdered. 


"It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood"
—After Banquo's ghost has gone, Macbeth feels that his crime is pursuing him.



In conclusion, this play shows that everyone can choose the path they want to take in life, whether they make bad choices or not and how this decisions affect the outcome of someone's future.
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair." 
-The witches's philosophy of life.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Macbeth- William Shakespeare

Macbeth
This novel dramatizes the story of an Scottish general called Macbeth who had an unexpected encounter with three witches that made a prophecy about his future. His destiny is about to change just at the moment he gets to know that he is going to be the king of Cawdor; but, how is this possible if the current king of Cawdor is still alive? 



Themes in Macbeth
The most notable theme in this novel is certainly ambition. Macbeth is a man that would do anything in order to get the throne and fulfill his desires and aspirations, even though his personality and values make him regret his crimes, he continues doing such crimes but at the end he is not capable to bear the consequences of his acts. Similarly, Lady Macbeth is a highly ambitious woman who shows everyone her strength and her ability to control the relationship between her and Macbeth. As his husband, she aspires to have power and position in the throne. At the beginning of the play, she shows as the evil character that would commit atrocities or make others commit crimes just to assuage her desires and temptations. 
Furthermore, the relationship between these two characters could also be another theme, because they constantly show their love in an unique and cruel way*. They are presented as being in love and they commit crimes together. Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth's behavior, making him commit acts he hadn't planned, therefore, he seems insecure to act for himself. 
*Cruel because they are in a constant fight of who is in charge of the relationship. Also, Lady Macbeth constantly bothers his husband by questioning his manhood and skills he doesn't have. 

Between these two characters exists a noticeable exchange of personalities as the play progresses. At the beginning of the novel, Lady Macbeth seems to be really firm because of the decisions she made and how she command over others.
Macbeth may have the idea of committing the crime on his mind, but there's something missing that will force him to commit the atrocities, this is where Lady Macbeth has an important role, because she's the one that impulses his husband to act in such way.

Lady Macbeth's behavior can be exemplified in the next quote (Act I, scene 5):

Lady Macbeth: 
"The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood,
Stop up th’access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
Th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
To cry ‘Hold, hold!’"

We can infer from this quote that Lady Macbeth would have commited murder in order to have power and position in the throne. This speech demonstrates the audience that she is the engine behind every decision that Macbeth makes. Because of the first impression, we can easily say that the ambitious one is Lady Macbeth. I believe that both are ambitious because Lady Macbeth manipulates his husband, but in some way Macbeth's ambitiousness makes presence because if he had not wanted to make such acts, he would deny to do them, but there was something inside him telling him that he must do such atrocities (his ambition). So, I can conclude that both committed the crimes together, it wasn't just about Lady Macbeth's manipulation over his husband.
 

 
What I have liked by far about Macbeth, is that is kinda based on the life of James I. Also that it shows how karma interferes in the story, making the criminals regret for their actions. Another interesting aspect is the presence of Lady Macbeth; she is not the stereotypical woman that is manipulated by his husband, conversely, she shows in a certain way, the strength of women in relationships. I really like the way ambitiousness is exemplified in this novel and what can the man do to fulfill his desires.
The only thing I don't like about Macbeth is that is written as a play. I understand that it was the main purpose for it, but I would have liked it better if it wasn't written like that. 


"Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
As the weird women promised, and I fear
Thou pay'dst most foully for't"

-Alone, Banquo reflects on Macbeth's rise to the throne.  





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