writing

Here's an essay I wrote for my final on Macbeth in British Literature. It's a bit weird, not my best work... but there it is.

While reading “Ridding Ourselves of Macbeth” by Lisa Low two things come to mind, the struggle between good and evil in every individual and how that struggle either isolates us or unites us as a people. This contest is not an easy one, it is something that most everyone battles with and most everyone wins in one way or another. The realization that we all face this should unite us. Failing to realize this causes disconnection and eventually destruction. In Macbeth Shakespeare tells us that we are all merely players, but he does not mention that there are other players on the stage with us, simultaneously fretting and strutting. Like Macbeth we either never have this epiphany or we too often forget it. These existential themes throughout the play entice us and instigate introspection.
Every cognizant being on Earth will eventually come to a point in time when they will want to evaluate their life. They will most likely weigh in by adding up the evil and good they have perpetuated. We enjoy Macbeth because the characters are constantly evaluating themselves, like us they have the deeply human desire to know their standing with a higher power. We get to watch these characters carry out or fight their evil tendencies. We identify with this play because we have felt every passion that is portrayed, we are breathless and shocked as we see the consequences of unbridled emotions and we are insidiously intrigued.
Macbeth was torn and confined after the murder of Duncan, it seems that he forgot that many had probably planned or thought about the King’s death before him. He forgot that his own wife was an accomplice and has a share of the guilt. His disgust for himself and his carnality caused him to inflict mental isolation upon himself. Because he saw himself as perverse he could not fully relate to his subjects, in his mind they were so innocent and virtuous compared to himself that they could not possibly relate to him. He places himself in a community of one, one traitorous murderer of a sovereign. We do this to ourselves as well, we think that no one else can possibly relate to us, we think that our troubles are unique and rare. But when we take a peek outside of our own emotions we see that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” as Thoreau would say. Although we will not have the same magnitude of guilt that Macbeth experienced we struggle in loneliness like he did, seeing others desperation makes us aware of our own and draws us in.
Macduff sees his own struggle with evil and by his conversation with Malcolm in Act IV, Scene 3 we see that he also understands others’ struggles. His thoughts are not so preoccupied with himself, he has enough insight to know that a nation of people deserves to be governed by a just person. He sees that Malcolm is not a perfect being but he is still more fit than Macbeth to rule Scotland. Through his realization of his struggle and the struggle of others’ Macduff is able to draw a clear line between good and evil, he knows that none of Macbeth’s actions were justifiable. Like Macduff we feel connected and strong when we can relate with one another. When we stop stratifying ourselves spiritually we come to the conclusion that we are all on the same basic level, taming the same beast inside us all. Coming to this conclusion comforts us.
Macbeth entrances us with its existential themes, it delights us with its unrestrained morbidity and its brooding taboo. We are drawn in by Macbeth’s wrestling match between himself and his emotions, we can relate to the passions of Macduff and Malcolm. This is not only the tragedy of Macbeth, it is so often the tragedy of humanity.