Critical Review of Macbeth by William Shakespeare Essay

Introduction Not unaccompanied is Macbeth by far the shortest of William Shakespeargons great tragedies, exclusively it is also anomalous in some geomorphological respects. Like Othello (1604) and only a very few other Shakespearean plays, Macbeth is without the complications of a subplot. (Bradley, 1905) Consequently, the sue moves precedent in a swift and inexorable rush. More significantly, the climax the murder of Duncan takes place very other(a) in the play. As a result, attention is focused on the various consequences of the crime rather than on the ambiguities or moral dilemmas that had preceded and occasi unitaryd it.Overview In this, the play differs from Othello, where the hero commits murder only after long plotting, and from village (1600-1601), where the hero spends most of the play in moral indecision. It is more than like King Lear (1605-1606), where destructive action flows from the central premise of the division of the kingdom. Yet Macbeth differs from that play, too, in that it does not raise the monumental, cosmic questions of bang-up and poisonous in nature (Shakespeare, 1992). Instead it explores the moral and psychological effects of evil in the life of one man.For all the power and prominence of Lady Macbeth, the drama remains essentially the story of the lord who commits regicide and in that respectby enmeshes himself in a complex web of consequences. When Macbeth first enters, he is far from the villain whose experiences the play subsequently describes. He has just returned from a glorious military success in defense of the crown. He is rewarded by the grateful Duncan, with preferment as thane of Cawdor. This honor, which initially qualifies him for the role of hero, ironically intensifies the horror of the murder Macbeth soon thereafter commits.His perch is rapid, and his crime is more clearly a sin than is usually the case in tragedy. It is not palliate by mixed motives or insufficient knowledge. Moreover, the sin is r egicide, an action viewed by the Renaissance as exceptionally foul, since it struck at Gods representative on earth. The sin is so boldly smelly that many have tried to find extenuation in the impetus given Macbeth by the witches. However, the witches do not maneuver behavior in the play. They are symbolic of evil and prescient of crimes which are to come, but they neither encourage nor facilitate Macbeths actions (Wills, 1994).They are merely a poignant external symbol of the ambition that is already within Macbeth. Indeed, when he discusses the witches prophecy with Lady Macbeth, it is clear that the possibility has been discussed before. Nor can the accountability be shifted to Lady Macbeth, despite her goading. In a way, she is merely acting out the role of the good wife, encouraging her husband to do what she believes to be in his best interests. She is a catalyst and supporter, but she does not make the grim decision, and Macbeth never tries to lay the blame on her (Wills, 1994).When Macbeth proceeds on his bloody course, there is little extenuation in his brief failure of nerve. He is an ambitious man overpowered by his superior aspirations, yet Shakespeare is able to elicit feelings of sympathy for him from the audience. Despite the evil of his actions, he does not arouse the repugnance audiences reserve for such villains as Iago and Cornwall. This may be because Macbeth is not evil incarnate but a human being who has sinned. Moreover, audiences are as much affected by what Macbeth says virtually his actions as by the deeds themselves.Both substance and setting emphasize the great evil, but Macbeth does not go about his foul business easily. He knows what he is doing, and his agonizing reflections show a man increasingly losing control over his own moral destiny. Although Lady Macbeth demonstrated greater courage and resolution at the beat of the murder of Duncan, it is she who falls victim to the physical manifestations of remorse and literall y dies of guilt. Macbeth, who starts more tentatively, becomes stronger, or perhaps more inured, as he faces the consequences of his initial crime.ConclusionThe play examines the effects of evil on Macbeths shell and on his subsequent moral behavior. The later murders flow naturally out of the first. Evil breeds evil because Macbeth, to harbor himself and consolidate his position, is forced to murder again (Harbage, 1963). Successively, he kills Banquo, attempts to murder Fleance, and brutally exterminates Macduffs family. As his crimes increase, Macbeths freedom seems to decrease, but his moral responsibility does not. His actions become more cold-blooded as his options disappear. Shakespeare does not spare Macbeth any moral apologys.The dramatist is aware of the notion that any action performed makes it more likely that the somebody will perform other such actions. The operation of this phenomenon is apparent as Macbeth finds it increasingly easier to rise to the alarming occa sion. However, the dominant inclination never becomes a total determinant of behavior, so Macbeth does not have the excuse of loss of free will. It does however become ever more difficult to break the chain of events that are rushing him toward moral and physical destruction. As he degenerates, he becomes more deluded about his invulnerability and more emboldened.What he gains in will and confidence is counterbalanced and eventually toppled by the iniquitous weight of the events he set in motion and felt he had to perpetuate. When he dies, he seems almost to be released from the custody of his own evil. References Bradley, A. C. (1905). Shakespearean Tragedy. London Macmillan. Harbage, Alfred. (1963). William Shakespeare A Readers Guide. New York Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Shakespeare, William. (1992). Macbeth. Alan Sinfield (ed. ). Houndsmills, England Macmillan. Wills, Garry. (1994). Witches and Jesuits Shakespeares Macbeth. New York Oxford University Press.