As children, we should all recall the well-known fable The Story of King Midas. King Midas possessed a grant from the satyr Silenus, a consolidation of a man and a goat, giving him the ability to produce gold by the sense of touch. Fascinated by his ability, he touched random objects out of pleasure like furniture, documents and clothes. Later, he became miserable because his dinner transformed into gold after handling his meal. In result, the King proceeded to bed starved, but he was careless because the more palpable objects he touched, the richer he became. All of a sudden, when his daughter embraced him, she transformed into gold. In the final analysis, King Midas pleaded to the god Dionyssus that he did not desire to be wealthy anymore; he simply wished to acquire his daughter back. Hence, Dionyssus changed all back to reality. Although the King illustrated minor discrepancies towards Macbeth, the essential lesson of the fable described greedy arbitrations, characterizing the persona of Macbeth in the play Macbeth. Since the decision of killing astonished Macbeth, he certainly learned from his greed the hard way: death. In context of death in the play, the grisly arbitrations presented in Macbeth foreshadowed perseverance, humane incessancy, fate, and free will.
Macbeth, the advocate of ambition, became involved with all of the slaughters in every scene of Macbeth, or as one would utter, “the Scottish play.” During the exposition, the three witches granted Macbeth their prophecy: he will be king. Overwhelmed with the prophecy, Macbeth plotted to kill King Duncan due to his impatience. After the murder, Macbeth caused Malcolm and Donalbain to flee from him for safety. As the climax progressed, Banquo, a dear friend of Macbeth, suspected him of executing Duncan for position. Immediately, he sent assassins to slay Banquo and Fleance, his son that escaped the catastrophe, because of sovereignty issues. Meanwhile, Macbeth, his greed of slaughter increasing, also referred more assassins to exterminate the family of Macduff. Macduff discovered the loss of his family, his grief affecting his arbitrations. Macduff, his pursuit to kill Macbeth, the man responsible for massacring his family and corrupting Scotland, formed a militia with Malcolm and Siward. Macduff finally confronted Macbeth, and they both fought to their death against each other. Macduff slew Macbeth, resulting in the crowning of Malcolm, the new King of Scotland. In consideration, the iniquities of Macbeth instigated him into bottling up his ambitions, clogging up until the bottle exploded into the hands of death.
People persevere… or… life continued despite major conflicts. In Act 3, Scene 1, lines 5-6 ofMacbeth, Banquo stated, “…but that myself should be the root and father of many kings.” In brief, Banquo delineated ambition in the quote, for his necessity to rule all of Scotland made him ravenous for perseverance. His arrogance emitted in the beginning of Act 3 because as he acknowledged the quote, he thought more about becoming king, yearning the throne. In Act 3, Scene 1, lines 57-58 ofMacbeth, Macbeth noted, “…he hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor to act in safety.” Macbeth, the main character of the play, indicated how Banquo, a loyal general to the King and Scotland, exhibited suspicion about him killing Duncan to be sovereign. His perseverance projecting uncontrollably, Banquo became disgusted by the tactics of Macbeth, so his lust caused his effort to overthrow Macbeth. In Act 3, Scene 1, lines 69-71 of Macbeth, Macbeth cited, “…for Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind. For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered, put rancors in the vessel of my peace…” Macbeth, exemplifying remorse towards Duncan, rued slaying him, but Macbeth demanded for his bitterness to diminish his tranquility. Representing how life continues, Macbeth became aware of his wretched life; therefore, he lazily allowed fate to cope with his life. Essentially, the theme “people persevere… or… life continues despite major conflicts” portrayed the contradiction between Banquo and Macbeth, respectively.
Fate may be predetermined, but free will determined how people reach their destinies. As mentioned in the play, Lady Macbeth was disappointed when she “[smelled] the blood still,” but she could not control her situation because “all the perfumes of Arabia [did] not sweeten [her hands]…” Her free will choosing to commit transgressions, Lady Macbeth depicted her fatality: death. She decided to be involved with the murders of Duncan and Banquo, so “what [went] around [came] back around” for her. In Act 5, Scene 8, lines 19-20 of Macbeth, Macduff indicated, “…tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d.” Oddly, Shakespeare suggested that Macduff was a cesarean section baby, causing free will in the perspective of Macbeth because he expressed ignorance about the secret of Macduff and the witches’ prophecy. His immortality could not be triggered by men born of women, yet Macduff was not born the typical way. In Act 5, Scene 8, line 69 of Macbeth, Macduff, Malcolm, Siward and their army exclaimed, “Hail, King of Scotland!” After the duel, Macduff declared Malcolm, the rightful heir to the throne, king. Malcolm, his fate displaying a promise, became king by default. By the same token, Malcom coveted slaying Macbeth, his free will bestowing his greed to restore Scotland. Under those circumstances, the wicked, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, reaped what they sewed and the blessed, Macduff and Malcolm, popped Champagne for their pain.
Free will stimulated the perpetual nature of life. In Act 5, Scene 1, lines 60-62 of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth affirmed, “To bed, to bed; there’s knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed.” Suspecting her daunting distress by her repetition, Lady Macbeth tried to escape from her dilemma by resting, her free will, but she demonstrated ignorance about sleep being the cousin of death. Lady Macbeth assumingly died sleeping, her death inferred as a suicide later on in Act 5. She understood that her paranoia monopolized her, so all she could truly hope for in her life was sorrow and persistence due to her cruel misconducts. In Act 5, Scene 5, lines 52-53 and 57 of Macbeth, Macbeth announced, “If this which he avouches does appear, there is nor flying hence nor tarrying here… at least we’ll die with harness on our back.” Macbeth summarized free will by his mind-set of no turning back because “[his army would either] stand united or fall divided.” Despite the outcomes of the battle, Macbeth insisted that life would continue whether if the avenue depicts adventure or appall. On the whole, even though Lady Macbeth and Macbeth consequently suffered in the play, they accepted the concept of life and its continuity.
Predetermined perseverance decisively generated fate. In Act 3, Scene 1, lines 156-157 ofMacbeth, Macbeth signified, “It is concluded: Banquo, thy soul’s flight, if it find heaven, must find it out tonight.” In support of malevolence, Macbeth hired executioners to execute Banquo, displaying his perseverance due to the efficient organization of the crime. Since he lived a life of murder, Macbeth, his fatality predicting the anticlimactic end of “the Scottish play,” truly died a victim of murder. In Act 3, Scene 5, lines 28-31 of Macbeth, Hecate, the queen of the witches, clarified, “…as by the strength of their illusion shall draw him on to his confusion. He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear his hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace, and fear.” Hecate, epitomizing perseverance in granting Macbeth his death certificate, hinted the beguiling witches’ palter towards Macbeth throughout the entire play. Considering his “immortality,” Macbeth assumed that the witches’ sided with him against Banquo because Banquo perceived to be “lesser than Macbeth…” in the witches’ perspectives. Consequently, since Macbeth destroyed Banquo, the witches indirectly sought revenge against Macbeth, altering their prophecy to where the fate of Macbeth was death, symbolizing the character of genies and their equivocations. Overall, the haughtiness of Macbeth hitched him a ride in a Hearse, perceiving how deadly ambition can become in life.
Ultimately, the analysis of these prominent themes permeated throughout the entire play because death was inevitable in Macbeth. In Act 1, Scene 5, lines 72-73 and Act 4, Scene 1, lines 168-170 ofMacbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth respectively declared, “…you shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch… his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool; this deed I’ll do before this purpose cool.” Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, the dynamic duo of deadly decisions, persevered to kill anybody and everybody that stood in their way of the throne, including the family of Duncan and Macduff. Comprehending their vicious atrocities, the couple, lusting power and pride, continued their obligation to these crimes, even though Macbeth was sovereign. In Act 2, Scene 2, lines 46-47 of Macbeth, Macbeth implied, “Sleep no more! Macbeth doth Murder sleep”—the innocent sleep…” Generally, Macbeth, a murderer, never slept after his horrific deed because when he forced Duncan into rest (eternally), the spirit of Duncan, along with the spirit of Banquo, surely haunted Macbeth throughout the whole play, screening the bittersweet nature of fatality. The free will of Macbeth determined to destroy Duncan, the King of Scotland at the time;therefore, Macbeth was destined to repent his misdemeanors because he not only murdered once, but he also committed massacres up to five times in the play! In summary, death connoted perseverance, humane incessancy, fate, and free will in Macbeth, one of the famous tragedies scripted by Shakespeare.
In essence, what causes death? Sure, perseverance, humane incessancy, fate, and free will appear to be satisfying characteristics, but signifying these factors maliciously guides one to a pernicious pathway of foulness, the boulevard Macbeth traveled endlessly. “As he was valiant, I honour him. But as he was ambitious, I slew him.” According to Shakespeare, despite the negativity directed towards Macbeth, the former Thane of Glamis and Cawdor, Macbeth happened to be a heroic and faithful soldier to his country and king, yet his prophecy altered his morals, introducing how his name must be edited from “Macbeth” to “Macdeath.”
