Macbeth Present And Future Essay

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The Passion of Macbeth: The Past, Present and Future In Macbeth, Shakespeare examines the significance of time in the form of one’s present and future through the unfortunate character of Macbeth. Macbeth is an ordinary soldier, loyal to the king as the Thane of Glamis, prior to his meeting with the three witches. The three witches reveal to Macbeth his future “All, hail Macbeth! Hail to three, Thane of Cawdor! All, hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3. 49-50). For the most part one does not know his or her own future. Our futures are uncertain and predictions like these do not always come true, yet Shakespeare has set Macbeth up in a way that he knows these predictions will come true. Not long after the witches state their claims …show more content…

Working in reverse, the future is an unknown, vast, nothingness, that we know little about. Most of the time one does not know his or her own future, yet in Macbeth two characters, Banquo and Macbeth, are given prophesies of what is to come. Shakespeare shows us the dangers in knowing one’s future. Both men who received prophesies from the witches were murdered in the play, suggesting that discovering the nothingness of the future is dangerous. The present is only time in which there is something. The present is the time emotions can be felt. There is an importance in the present, because decisions can be made and acted upon. Macbeth talks about “present fears are less than horrible imaginings” (1.3. 137-38), providing evidence of current emotions and suggesting that they are only less horrible when the future is known. Finally, the past occurs only seconds after the present and it creeps in on us in another vast, unknowing way. We are often unaware of how our pasts develop and grow as each day passes, bringing us closer and closer to the day in which the future and present are no more. Shakespeare describes this time as “signifying nothing” (V.5. 26). Once something is in the past it has no emotional capacity, ability to be acted upon, or imaginings. The significance of life is not in the past or future, but in the present. The present is the only time in which we can experience life in a way that is balanced and decisions can be made. Although many may want to know what the future holds, Macbeth shows us the consequences of discovering the nothingness of the future. Once Macbeth realizes what he’s going to do in the future the decision-making possibility in the present is stripped from him. Finally, the past may influence our present decision, but once something is in the past it signifies nothing and cannot be altered. Overall,

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