Cruelty In Macbeth

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Cruelty, it has bled and woven its way throughout Shakespeare’s narrative of Macbeth, sharing that of a universal theme exhibited throughout humanity.

According to The English Oxford Dictionary, “cruel” is interpreted as “willfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern towards it.” The term “willfully” conoates to that of personal intention, with full knowledge of the consequences. Shakespeare's Macbeth interprets the title of cruelty as an inhuman act. Expressed through the soliloquy of Lady Macbeth, who is frustrated at the state of her being, praying to be "unsexed", and replacing that of which is gone with "direst cruelty". In Shakespeare's time period, women were illustrated as weak and loving creatures, being like …show more content…

To put it in perspective, man kind can be described in the terms ¨dog eat dog world¨, implacting that humans strive for the conquest of power, and would do anything to achieve this, thus performing tyrannical acts. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, after hearing about assassination of King Duncan, Donalbain and Malcolm make plans to flee the castle, realizing Macbeth false sympathy and mourning. As employed through the words of Donalbain of ¨men will smile at us while hiding daggers¨, meaning that people deceive you with a smile, even though they have the intent to kill. The cruelty in this statement presents the hiding of our true intentions or emotions, in order to benefit us or lower other into a false sense of security. We hide our cruel ways and wicked intentions that all lie deep within us, looking "like the innocent flower/ yet be the serpent under it." Everyone puts on a mask, hiding ourselves amongst the sea of flowers, ready to follow through on the actions that we take with as much virtiality as a serpent about to strike. Knowing the consequences that will follow, but viewing them as a means to

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