Why Is Macbeth Still Relevant Today

Macbeth is a famous play written by William Shakespeare. The play is partly relevant to modern audiences. Theme plays a main part in the relevance of the play. However story does not, the story is irrelevant and modern audiences cannot connect. Further, the characters are partly relevant, as Audiences can relate to some but not others. Macbeth is partly relevant to modern audiences as audiences can relate to varying parts.

(V.1. 53-55) Lady Macbeth in Act 1 scene 6 talks about Duncan saying that, “Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?” (5.1.41). This is showing she is starting to express about what she has done and starts to reveal how much guilt she has herself

Shakespeare describes the consequences associated with guilt as a means to send a message to modern readers; guilt consumes the mind

Based on Lady Macbeth's character development in three different film representations, one can learn that guilt is able to completely change someone by driving them to insanity, especially after a crime as horrible as murder. Lady Macbeth is a complex character because she allowed her desire for power lead her to a life of guilt, insanity, and eventually her death. She starts out the play eager to kill King Duncan and gain power, but slowly begins to feel remorse. She is consumed by the feeling of blood on her hands and the guilt she will feel for the rest of her life. Scene V Act i is the perfect moment to show Lady Macbeth's character development, as this is her lowest point in the play.

To be loyal to the king is to have integrity, to show this in a tragedy such as William Shakespeare’s Scottish play Macbeth, the use of literary devices is mandatory. Shakespeare showcases a variety in character and plot development; he manipulates this ability he possesses to dissolve the character’s integrity within the play. The overall thematic message of the play is ‘Disloyalty to the king means to lose integrity, and to lose integrity is to be destroyed.’ Macbeth shows his integrity in Act one, Scene two. Shakespeare proves Macbeth possesses integrity in Act one, Scene two. Macbeth’s integrity becomes undone in Act two, Scene two, consequently, the complete destruction of his honour is delivered in a killing blow in Act Five, Scene eight.

Throughout everyone’s lives every person will face some type of guilt in the most, or least, intense ways. All of this guilt can build up inside of someone and cause them to act differently or their whole life can completely change. This exact situation is strongly brought up in the popular Shakespeare play, Macbeth. In the play, Shakespeare utilizes foreshadowing and many motifs into his writing that shows his audience how exactly Macbeth, and eventually Lady Macbeth, is plagued by guilt.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the theme of guilt and conscience is one of many explored throughout the play. Macbeth, is a well respected Scottish noble who in the beginning of the play is a man everyone looks up to; however as the play progresses he makes a number of bad decisions. Eventually, as a result of his actions he suffers guilt and this plays heavily upon his character until his personality is completely destroyed. Shakespeare uses a range of techniques in order to develop this theme such as, characters, imagery.

William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, presents the highs and lows of a character who transitions from a noble warrior to a violent tyrant that seeks greed and power which ultimately leads him to his downfall, death. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is considered to be a man of great value and character. He shows this by not wanting anything in return for fighting for his country: “The service and loyalty I owe, in doing it pays itself” (1:4:22-23). He is loyal to King Duncan and proves his loyalty on the battlefield.

“Betray a friend, and you’ll often find you ruined yourself,” once said Aesop. There are consequences of betraying and deceiving a friend, and it will change one’s life for the worse. One author who emphasizes the ideal of betrayal and deception is Shakespeare, and it can be seen throughout the play Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth was an honored and respected high ranking noble in King Duncan’s eyes, and betrayed his king to gain power. Macbeth and his fellow, Banquo were told by mysterious witches that Macbeth would be crowned king. The prediction from the witches gave Macbeth and Lady Macbeth a dangerous dose of ambition, which led to them killing the ones closest to them to become king, including King Duncan and Banquo. Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare illustrates the concept

disloyalty by showing the fated sequence of events that each character underwent in order for the story to unfold. Throughout the drama, many things happen showing how Macbeth was disloyal to all the people you would expect him to be loyal to. For example, he hears of a prophesies of himself becoming king which drives him to the murder of king Duncan. Another example is where he betrays his friend to fulfill the need of being king. Macbeth even is disloyal to himself, but does not want to let the guilt take over, so he does whatever it takes to still remain King which includes being disloyal to one of his closest friends. Finally, an example of disloyalty is when Macduff and Macbeth have their final interactions. In sum, this play showed many examples of the theme of honor vs

Shakespeare’s bloody and tragic play Macbeth, written in the seventeenth century, portrays blind ambition, appearances can be deceiving and corruption of power. It follows the reasons behind Macbeth’s downfall. The play analyzes how other outside forces can easily change the path of ones desires and decisions. The witches’ intrusion, Lady Macbeth’s manipulation and Macbeth’s dark desires all interfere and manipulate Macbeth’s decisions. He goes from being praised as a noble soldier to a traitor and corrupt king. In the play, Macbeth commits many terrible crimes; however he is solely not responsible for all of them. The outside factors manipulate his decisions and are responsible for his downfall at the end.

After the murder of Duncan, he delivers the bloody daggers to Lady Macbeth which in a way surprises her, and she ends up leaving them next to the guards, which makes it look like they were responsible for the murder of the loyal king Duncan. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth begins going crazy, constantly crying about the “blood” on her hands that will not come off. The blood symbolizes the guilt that she is encountering because she cannot clean her soul of what she has done, and even the doctor doesn't understand what is going on with her, they just think she is crazy. A few acts later it gets to the point where she eventually commits suicide, just because she was unable to deal with the guilt. (The Theme of Guilt). Several quotes throughout this play can help relate to the destruction that guilt causes. “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! – One: two: why, then, 'tis time to do't, – Hell is murky! – Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? – Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (Macbeth, act 5 scene 1). This quote is showing Lady Macbeth being entrapped by the guilt of the murder, which causes her to sleep walk and talk about it in a sort of dull way every night. “But screw your courage to the sticking place, And we'll not fail.” (Lady Macbeth, act 1 scene 7). Another quote by Lady Macbeth when she wanted Macbeth to continue on

Society perceives loyalty as a strong feeling of support and allegiance. This is compromised when loyalties end up in deception. For the most part, everyone has good intentions in our relationships and life goals; however, sometimes our self-desires and devotions can contradict our true values of loyalty. In William Shakespeare's play “Macbeth," loyalty was demonstrated by the following characters, which ultimately ends in betrayal to either to themselves or others. Macbeth expresses great loyalty to Duncan, but ironically, decides to murder him for sovereignty. Banquo is loyal to Macbeth by staying quiet about his suspicions; however, it unintentionally betrayals Duncan and Scotland. Macduff is a hard worker in his family by serving Scotland, but ironically he leaves his family unprotected leading to their deaths. In Macbeth, the paradox between loyalty and betrayal is ironic. Ironically, their initial loyalties bring about betrayal, ultimately causing the death of characters. Thus, those who value loyalty must understand the consequences of their actions.

In the 17th Century, when Macbeth was written , loyalty was highly regarded and had great value. The gunpowder plot in 1605, against King James I, shocked everybody . Treason against your own country was regarded as one of the worst crimes a person can commit and this is why Guy Fawkes was hung, drawn and quartered. In the play “Macbeth”, Shakespeare makes the themes of loyalty and family very clear to the audience in the first few scenes in the play. There are many examples of characters that were loyal and trusted, but that turned their back on the people that trusted them. With this becoming the case, it becomes very hard for people to put faith in others as in an instant they could turn their back and try and act on what they truly believe in.

Shakespeare’s plays all contain themes that are still relevant to our lives today. Macbeth is no exception. Here Shakespeare utilizes an extensive variety of themes throughout the context of the play and how the characters exploit their actions towards each other. The main theme of “the Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition” is dealing with a blind lust for power capable of anything while the parallel theme of “Guilt and Remorse” deals with the effects of bad deeds on the deepest innards of human nature. Both can be found widely amongst the current generation and therefore are still