i have an essay on macbeth and this is the question could someone please help me out : Explain how Shakespeare uses the character of Macbeth to explore the themes of ambition and evil.
I did my essay on: How does Shakespeare use the text Macbeth to explore significant ideas and themes?
Shakespeare has purposefully constructed texts to reflect his ideas about the values from the world in which he lived in. These ideas inform our own understanding of the human condition at the time, and thus expand our empathy for others across time.
The first theme that is explored through the language of Shakespeare's Macbeth is ambition, and the consequences of following either a good or bad ambition. The imagery shown the quote by Macbeth illustrates the negative implications following your evil desires, as shown in "Is this a dagger I see before me". The symbolism of the dagger represents Macbeth's inherently evil desire to be a King, and the motivation behind his lethal actions when he decides to kill Duncan. Therefore, the human experiences can be enhanced or eroded through our decisions that affect others. This is further seen in the symbolism of the dagger in the quote ‘There’s daggers in men’s smiles’, which reveal the underlying motivations for men and how they long for power from others. This is relevant because it shows the need for understanding what is beneath people and their ambitions, so showing the need for us to understand others. Therefore shakespeare's language reveals that ambition can be a positive or negative thing and we need to decide what we implicate in our lifestyles.
The second theme explored through the language of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is Fate and Freewill, the quote “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me” shows the irony because Macbeth is talking about chance but he will ironically be king by free will and nothing to do with chance. Therefore going against god’s will will lead to the unbalancement of Fate and Freewill structure. It further seen in the quote “I bear a charmed life”. Through the use of personal pronoun ‘I’ in this quote, we see the inherent tension between Macbeth’s ‘charmed life’ and his desire for power. He acts against his fate through free will, and because he acts against his destiny Shakespeare creates a need to restore the natural order through Macbeth’s downfall.
The third theme is explored through the language of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is Appearance and Reality, the quote “All the perfumes of arabia will not sweeten this little hand” shows a metaphor that shows imagery of bad deeds cannot be ultimately hidden. It is further seen in “look like the innocent flower, but the serpent under’t” shows that Macbeth had two faces, “innocent flower” in appearance but “serpent under't” in reality. It also says how people have many faces, each for different people and situations. Therefore shakespeare's language implicates that people are 2 faced people and are different in appearance and reality.
Language in Macbeth used by Shakespeare from the explored themes, Ambition, Fate and Freewill and Appearance and Reality shows ambition can be good or bad but we need to choose which path. It also shows that during shakespearean times having a free will, which means going against your fate and god's will, will lead to destruction. And it finally shows that people have many faces and are very different in appearance and reality.
Hope it helps
