A Comparison of Time in Macbeth and As You Like It
In Shakespearean drama, a dynamic and explosive fusion of jealousy, pride, anger and ambition is characteristic for heroes’ behaviour. The tragedy was caused by the excessive flaw in character - self-respect and dignity combined with the feelings of hate and revenge. A disaster usually occurred to lead to destruction of the protagonist. Due to divine justice, punishment is inevitable and therefore no happy ending is possible. Therefore, time is the hero’s main enemy, mercilessly working against him. The mystery of tragedy is that once the protagonist has learnt a lesson of how to renew the order in himself, death is the only outcome /no memento mori, however/.
Comedy differs in the mood it approaches and addresses life. It presents situations which deal with common ground of man’s social experience rather than limits of his behaviour – it is not life in the tragic mode, lived at the difficult and perilous limits of the human condition.
In “Macbeth” the first scene presents a meeting of three witches during stormy weather. Shakespeare shows disturbed, angry nature - thunder and lighting represent light - daytime and dark – night-time. Light is the metaphor for innocence, purity, truth, and goodness as opposed to dark - evil. It is also a suggestion that the innocent will suffer as well as the guilty. The fog and filthy air signify moral and spiritual obscurity and “the set of sun” means the end of the reign and kingship. The sun appears only twice – when Duncan sees the swallows flying around the castle of death and during the army gathering to purify the earth of its shame (traitors).
There is very strong sense of predestination (‘when’ instead of ‘if’) while in “As You Like It” Orlando’s flight is pathless and the meeting of lovers – an act of Fate. In both plays the succession of the scenes is very swift; in tragedy the impression is that longer time elapsed than provided for because passage from thought to a critical resolution is difficult. The outcome of the comedy is obvious while Macbeth enters the spiral of decline within his imagination. Sleep has been banished – the protagonist is aware of the nightmare; his only one dream is the murder which would break the cycle and show the way out of the nightmare – liberation.
Are things as they seem? All things have an appearance, usually a good or a bad one. Depending on the appearance something has we form an opinion about it. Sometimes the appearance something has can mislead one in forming an accurate opinion about it. In Macbeth, Shakespeare shows us that things are not always as they appear to be. This is shown through the duplicity of Macbeth and his wife, the kings sons and the servants being In the beginning of the play Macbeth is a well respected hero who appears to be a great guy. However, by the end of the play it is clear that Macbeth is a selfish, troubled man with a conscience that seems to serve no purpose. In lines 81-82 on page 240, Macbeth tells how he must mislead the world and hide his dark side from it. "Away, and mock the time with " On page 249 Macbeth does a good job of hiding his dark side before finding the dead king with Macduff. "Is the king stirring, worthy Thane?" asks Macduff. "Not yet," replies Macbeth. "Goes the king hence today?" asks Macduff. "He does: he did appoint so," answers Macbeth. Although Macbeth has full knowledge of the king's death, he plays it off well and appears to know nothing. Lady Macbeth appears to be a nice hospitable woman. However, her heart is dark and full of evil.  ; On page 236, the king talks to Lady Macbeth, telling her of the And thank us for your help. " His opinion of Lady Macbeth highly exceeds that of which it should. He has such a high opinion of Lady Macbeth because he is mislead by her good appearance. It is ironic that Duncan thinks so highly of Macbeth and his wife, as on page 232 when he says "There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face:" This is ironic because it directly applies to the king and Macbeth. (The king does not know Macbeth's true mind construction. If he did, Macbeth would most likely get his head chopped off. ) It is also ironic that he gets a good feeling about being at Macbeth's castle and that Banquo sees a temple-haunting martlet outside of the castle, the martlet suggesting heaven's invitation to the castle. This is ironic because Macbeth and his wife are inside planning Duncan's murder as he sits outside with Banquo talking about his good feelings regarding the castle. Macbeth's castle appears to be There are some characters in Macbeth who appear to be guilty of something although they are not. The two servants are found disoriented and covered with the king's blood in the morning which makes them appear to be the murderers. (Courtesy of Macbeth and his nutty wife. ) Malcom and Donalbain are next in line to the throne, so they appear to be the ones who had the servants kill the king. Although the king's sons and the servants appear to be the murderers, they are not. They are completely innocent because Macbeth and his wife are the murderers. Macbeth and his wife appeared to be honorable people. Even so, they had wicked hearts. The castle appeared to be a safe place, but it actually turned out to be the king's meeting place with death. The king's sons appeared to be the murderers though they had done nothing wrong.
Harvest of the Empire is a valuable tool to gaining a better understanding of Latinos. This book helps people understand how varied Latino’s in the United States are. The author also helped give insight as to how Americans reacts to differences within itself. It does this by giving a description of the struggles that every Latino immigrant faced entering the United States. These points of emphasis of the book were explained thoroughly in the identification of the key points, the explanation of the intersection of race, ethnicity, and class, in addition to the overall evaluation of the book.
Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire a History of Latinos in America. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc, 2000.
One can only contemplate why US historians have failed to acknowledge Hispanic contributions to the country. What is certain is that this neglect must be changed. Hispanic Americans, especially the youth, are deserve to learn about these significant contributions to the United states. This knowledge could increase their self-esteem and cultural pride.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a story of a great Scottish warrior hero who falls prey to the temptations of his own aspirations to be king. Macbeth hastily silences everyone who even has a chance of standing in the way of his power. Initially, he is able to overcome his scruples to obtain the position he desires, but soon the uneasiness catches up to he and his wife in shocking manners. The dagger scene, banquet scene, and sleepwalking scene are all related because they demonstrate the guilt that both the Macbeths experience after the murders of Duncan, Banquo, and the Macduffs and how their actions are driving them to their inevitable deaths.
A quote which really defines Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambition regarding power is “Power does not corrupt men; fools; however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power” George Bernard Shaw. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious in terms of gaining power then Macbeth is and that Lady Macbeth will do almost anything to gain power, even evil things that she normally wouldn’t do. This is shown when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth learn about the witches’ predictions, then roles in the plans to murder king Duncan in order to gain power and then finally after the murder, Macbeth doesn’t want to finish the plan making Lady Macbeth angry and causing a chance they might get caught and gain no power at all.
Montoya, Margret E. "Masks and Identify," and "Masks and Resistance," in The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader New York: New York University Press, 1998.
cause him to think and do evil deeds. In Hamlet, if he had not seen
First Lady Macbeth calls on night and darkness to assist her scheme against Duncan. Secondly, Macbeth returns after killing Duncan, his speech is full of dark imagery. Lastly, Banquo gets suspicious about Macbeth, then he hires people to kill Banquo. As Macbeth plans the murder of Banquo he uses imagery to express the evil scheme.
There was a common saying, “Behind every great man there's a great woman”. The men, Macbeth and Winston Smith in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and George Orwell’s 1984 may not be considered as the “great man” however, both Lady Macbeth and Julia are good examples that can be presented as the “great woman” behind the men. Both Lady Macbeth and Julia do an excellent job of pretending to be someone who they are not, they are not only affecting the men in their lives to rethink their previous position but also have a bad ending accompanied with physical and psychological issues.
Beginning with the Greeks, tragedy has been an essential form of entertainment. Although it has changed slightly over time due to different religious and social values, it is still written and performed to this day. Perhaps the most well known tragedy of all time is Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet is perhaps the epitome of all tragedy. Not only does the tragic hero Hamlet meet his demise, but all the main characters in the play at some point due to some flaw in their character, or some fatal decision, also meet the same fate. It is because of their character flaw and/or their fatal decision at some time during the play that their death can be justified.
... hawk'd at and kill'd" (II.V.11-13). The sight of a night owl that catches mice on ground, attacking a falcon high up in the sky during the day is peculiar and doesn’t correspond to the natural order of the universe. When Macbeth kills Duncan it creates disorder and confusion among the natural order in Scotland. Macbeth’s suffering leads to the deterioration of himself and the ordinary occurrences around him.
Tragic heroes, who destined for a serious downfall, are the protagonist of a dramatic tragedy. A tragic hero is usually a great hero, who gets the most respect from other people; on the other hand, a tragic hero can also lose everything he gained because of his mistakes. His downfall is the result of a wrong judgment, a flaw which might combined with fated and external forces. The downfall can cause the tragic hero to suffer for the rest of his life. In many literary works, the downfall of the tragic heroes usually happen in their highest point. In the same way, Macbeth is a tragic hero in the play called “The Tragedy of Macbeth” which is written by a legendary writer, William Shakespeares. Macbeth is a great general who gained many respect from the people and even the king. In the highest point of his life, because of seeking for greater power, it created Macbeth’s downfall. Macbeth, a tragic hero, causes suffering for himself and others by committing murders and creating distress, which are the negative effects of seeking for a greater power.
When one hears the word tragedy, one can assume that the human emotions are responsible for the collapse of an individual. To the Greek philosopher Aristotle, however, a tragedy is “an imitation of an action of high importance…in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties…[or] by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these emotions” (Kennedy & Gioia, 945). He defined a tragic hero as having three common characteristics: hamartia, or the tragic flaw in the character which coupled with hubris (pride which results in overconfidence) causes his downfall and demise; katharsis, the purgation of the audience’s emotions, which causes the audience to feel “not depressed, but somehow elated”; and anagnorisis, or the recognition of some fact not previously realized by the true identity of the main character (Kennedy & Gioia, 946). Therefore, as defined by Aristotle’s concept of tragedy, William Shakespeare’s Othello could be classified as a tragic hero. Shakespeare’s play includes jealousy and intrigue, which intertwined with pride and suspense create the finest of Aristotelian tragedies. Othello complies with the requirements for a tragic hero as Aristotle began with the premise that the hero must be of “high estate,” as if he were the member of a royal family; however, he yet falls from a hierarchy of power to one of abashment. He has married the daughter of a Venetian nobleman. He starts out well, but his end is one of drama. Moreover, Shakespeare’s plot develops as Othello’s katharsis is revealed through the climax and conclusion of the play, while the anagnorisis with the recognition that Iago was a traitor and Desdemona his innocent victim.
The play Macbeth was wrote by William Shakespeare in 1606. The play Macbeth was a myth though in the time of Shakespeare there was a king Duncan and his successor was a Scottish noble man by the name of Macbeth but people are positive that nothing else was true.